Spinel Makes Five
by Remmushound
Summary: What if Spinel had been a member of the Crystal Gems from the very start? How would her presence affect the story, and what new arcs could center around her? In this fic, that is just what happened. This fiction will contain language and themes much darker than the actual show. You have been warned.
1. Steven Universe

_My name is Steven Universe._

_I'm human, mostly, except for a few minor things. Like this gem in the middle of my stomach; a pretty pink one, a quartz. I've had it for as long as I can remember, since birth probably. It's just a part of me like any other part, like an arm or a leg or a liver, and I wouldn't want it any other way. My family and I call ourselves the Crystal Gems; all except my dad, he's a car washer. There has always been five Crystal Gems, even before I was born. My mom, Rose Quartz, used to be a Crystal Gem until she gave up her physical form to let me be born._

_I live in a place called Beach City; it's on a beach, but it isn't exactly a city. There's less than a hundred people in total, and I know all of them. But I'm getting off track. I've got way more people to introduce than just me._

The sky was clear, and the air was hot. The type of day where the entire town gathered on the beach for a day of fun and relaxation. Most people called off for the day, to make the most of the beautiful afternoon, but many of the food vendors stayed open to take advantage of the onslaught of people. Little Ronnie Fryman was dancing around in his Frybo costume, and no one could say no to that cute face, especially when tiny Peedee toddled out dressed as a fry and danced around his older brother.

Out near the boardwalk, where the sand parted and a great tree grew strong, there was another toddler the same age as Peedee Fryman having just as much fun. Under the watch of a stout, purple-tinged lady with hair as tall as she was. At least, she was supposed to be watching, but the purple lady seemed more preoccupied with relaxing in the sand and drifting off to that wonderful place between time and space, where the possibilities stretched out into enternites. She was so out of it that she took no notice to the small boy balancing precariously on the same branch she had left him on, in nothing but a diaper, his rosy gem on display for the whole world to see.

There was an unholy screech as another caregiver, pale, slender, and flat-chested with short cropped pink hair and bird-like features, rushed out from the beach house and down the steps in a moments flash.

"AMETHYST!"

Even the mist of sleep couldn't block out something that loud, and people on the other side of the beach began to stare.

"What?"

"Get Steven!"

Amethyst gave a casual glance up toward the young boy who, started by the noise, had fallen back on his rear and taken to staring down at the two below.

"He's fine."

"No he's not! He's not fine- GARNET!"

Out from the beach house came another; tall, muscular, and dark skinned. Tinted glasses shielded her eyes from view. With a stone expression, she casually made her way down the stairs, and there was a particular air about her that demanded respect.

"Look's what she's doing with Steven!" The pale caregiver motioned to the toddler, who had since forgotten about about the chaos below him and began to walk once more across the length of the branch. "Do something, he's gonna fall!"

Garnet looked from the elevated toddler, down to the two gems on opposite spectrums of concern. "I'd never let him."

This brought forth another unhold screech, and the beginning of tears in the eyes of the white woman. She ran over to the base of the tree, holding out stick-like arms and becoming to the boy.

"Come on Steven, I'll catch you. And I'll never let Amethyst watch you again, I promise! Steven!"

Steven didn't react to his name. What he did react to, however, was the small pink butterfly that seemed to appear out of thin air, calling him closer and closer to open sky.

"Steven, no! Get away from the edge!" She raced to keep her arms under Steven at all times.

Steven took no heed. All mattered in that instant was the butterfly. He could almost touch it…

The branch broke out from beneath him and the boy fell fast toward the ground, but before he could get too far, there was another disturbance. Again, something appeared from the beach house; two pink arms, impossibly stretched and almost like rubber, shot through the open doors and weaved their way down to the beach, catching the toddler moments before he would have hit the ground.

"Oh thank the stars!" Came the white pearls screech, "I told you this would happen!" The anger dripping from her words were aimed at the amethyst, but she didn't seem to care either way.

The extended arms wrapped themselves around Steven, freeing the hands to tickle the small boys stomach. Laughter followed after, as it often did, and the boy kicked and squirmed as he tried to escape the assault. While this was happening, out came a fourth caregiver, and the body to which the arms were attached. Pink-skinned with scraggly pigtails and the marks of mascara tears dripping down the sides of her face. On her chest was an inverted heart with a healed cracked down its center which, by the looks of it, had almost split the gem in two.

"Oooo, what do we 'ave 'ere." She flipped Steven upside down, much to Steven's enjoyment and Pearl's anguish. "Did you think you were a bird?"

She flipped him right side off and placed him gently in the sand. Pearl was on him in an instant.

"Oh thank the stars! Are you injured?" She picked the boy up, despite his whining protests, and carried him toward the house. "If he's hurt, I'm holding _you _responsible!"

She pointed a finger at Amethyst, who had since fallen back to sleep without a care in the world.

_And that's my family; most of them, anyway. My dad doesn't live with us, but I still love him the same. He was pretty broken up after mom died, and so I went to live with the gems. It was kinda like having four moms, in a way. They were always there for me, especially Spinel. Even when the other gems would go off on missions, she'd always stay behind with me so I wouldn't be lonely._

_That's how I spent most of my childhood; in my room playing games with Spinel, or exploring the town and the boardwalk. There's only so much you can do in a town as small as Beach City, and I've done it all. Been to every restaurant (all three of them), road every ride at Funland multiple times, played and beat every game at the arcade multiple times. Every year on my birthday I'd beg Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to finally let me go on a mission, and every time they would say the same thing: wait until you're older. That is until last year, when Garnet said something different. Something new._

"_Next year, Steven."_

The house was silent apart from the droning of the Tv, which Steven had long since lost interest in. Instead, his own thoughts seemed to dampen the words and, though he was vaguely aware of what was going on, he paid it no mind. The gems had gone off on another mission, again without him. _Always _without him. All except Spinel.

The pink gem with the inverted heart sat at the foot of his bed, chomping down on a piece of chewing gum, fully enraptured by the prograsming. It was as if she sensed Steven watching her, and in that moment she turned to look at him.

"Wanna go climb somethin' or somethin'?"

"Eh." Steven collapsed back down into his bed, "I'm not really in a climbing mood. But we can go find something else to do."

"Fun!"

Spinel was up in an instant, her arm stretching out to wrap around Steven and pull him to his feet. Steven had been around her so long it was barely even strange, even if everyone else in Beach City cowered away from her and the other Crystal Gems; all except Steven. They were sort of local legends, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

Steven loved the way that Spinel squeaked with every minor movement, like some kind of cartoon character. When she'd walk, the squeaking would he timed with her steps. When she grinned, it was like a clown had its nose honked. And when she'd stretch, she'd make a noise almost like a spring. There were lots of other noises too, but those were his favorite. Just him and his best friend, seeing where the day would take them.

As it turned out, it took them to the Big Donut: Steven's second favorite place in the whole world! His first favorite place was the temple in the rocks behind his house, but he was never supposed to go in there. Sometimes though, when Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had gone out, Spinel would sneak him in there and they'd play around together, and they'd be out by the time the others got back, so no one suspected a thing!

The door gave a familiar ring when the two walked through it; a sound Steven had slowly been conditioned to, meaning only one thing: donuts! Already his body began to crave the treat it knew was coming, and he got that familiar, ticklish feeling in his gem whenever he got like this. The feeling only grew stronger when he saw Lars and Sadie working the counter.

Sadie was so nice, and small like Amethyst, with a cascade of golden curls and a friendly, elfish look to her. Lars couldn't have been more different; tall, lanky, and grim with gingery mohawk and a face full of freckles. He was hard to get along with, but him and Steven were best buds!

"HI LARS!"

"Ugh, not you again." Lars leaned against the counter, brushing his hair in front of his face and scowling.

Sadie gave a pleasant smile. "Steven, Spinel. Uh, how are you?"

Steven hurried to the counter and threw his hands over the cold surface. Spinel followed suit in a familiar fashion.

"HI SADIE!" Steven cheered, "I'm good!"

Sadie turned away from him and waddled to the glass case behind her which held the delicate treats. "I'm guessing you want a donut?"

"You know I do!" Steven beamed, "My usual please!"

"Right." Using wax paper, Sadie selected the perfect donut; a fluffy, golden brown with a chocolate coating sprinkled with chocolate chips, "Do you want something, Spinel?"

Spinel considered this loudly, pressing both index fingers to her lips and narrowing her eyes as she hummed her internal debate.

"That one!" She decided at last, pointing to a pretty pink one coated in rainbow sprinkles.

"Coming right up!" Sadie pulled her ladder out from under the counter and set it up near the case, while Lars simply watched with a dull look.

"While you're up there, can you get three more for Amethyst and Garnet?"

"Sure!" Sadie nearly lost her balance as she turned around, but quickly regained it, "Any requests?"

"It doesn't matter." Steven said, "I don't think Amethyst even tastes her food, and Garnet's fine with anything."

Sadie had finished packing up Spinel's donut, and reached for the nearest one; one with white frosting and red, white, and blue sprinkles, "This one okay?"

"Yeah!"

Sadie placed it in the bag as reached for the next two and, confirming with Steven that they were okay, she placed them with the others. She held the bag out to Lars, who did little else than stare, before she resigned herself to cautiously make her way down with the bag in hand, careful not to squash any of the donuts. She breathed a sigh of relief when her feet were back on the ground, and she handed Steven the bag and Steven gave her the money.

"Lars, can you at least put that back?" Sadie motioned to the later.

Lars groaned as if it were the worst thing in the world, but he reluctantly obeyed and folded the ladder as Sadie had asked.

"Thanks Sadie!" Steven handed Spinel her donut before taking out his own.

"Of course Steven." Sadie smiled, "You're my favorite customer!"

Steven flushed red. "Aww, thanks." He took a bite out of his donut then waved goodbye, "Bye Sadie, bye Lars!"

Sadie waved goodbye, but Lars didn't seem to hear him.

Once they made it outside, Spinel took a bite of her donut, sending sprinkles flying everywhere. "What you wanna do now?"

"Boardwalk?" Steven suggested.

Spinel threw her hands up in the air, disoging even more of the sprinkles. "Fun!" She gave a final chew of her mouthful before spitting it on the ground and taking a new bite.

The gems were all so weird about food. Pearl could hardly stand being around it, and Amethyst could never go more than ten minutes without it. Garnet was okay with food, but she was also okay without, and Spinel would chow down on anything you'd give her, but she'd never swallow it. She'd just chew it up until it lost its flavor, then spit it out and start again.

Halfway to the boardwalk and they saw Onion, the small town troublemaker, throwing handfuls of ketchup packets into the wind. He had a leash attached to him, but his mother on the other end seemed too tired to try and stop him.

"Hi Onion!" Steven waved.

The pale boy looked up at him with a blank look. Spinel waved as well, but instead of waving back, Onion turned around and ran into his mother's arms. Vidalia quietly accepted the embrace with one arm.

Steven slowed to a stop, and Spinel matched his pace. "Oh, hi Vidalia!"

Vidalia looked up, about to give the minimum effort needed for a polite response, but her eyes lit up when she realized who had called out to her. She waved them both over.

"Well if it isn't Greg's boy! How's your old man doing anyway?"

"He's okay," Steven responded.

"Still working that car wash?"

"Of course!"

Vidalia laughed. "I dunno why I expected any different. Uh say, how's Amethyst doin? You livin with her now, arentcha?"

Steven laughed. "Yeah! Everything's great!"

"That's just wonderful, aint it…" Vidalia's face flushed. "Oh, excuse me."

Vidalia knelt down to Onion, who had been pulling nonstop on his lead in an attempt to get his mother's attention. She unclipped the leash and rolled it back up over her arm.

"Shoo! Go play!"

Onion was off as soon as he was free, and disappeared into a nearby bush. Vidalia struggled to stand back up straight, and she reached into her pocket to pull out a carton.

"You don't mind if I smoke, do ya?"

Steven shook his head.

"Great!" She lit one of them and took a long puff before releasing the smoke into the air, "Now when you go on home I want ya to tell Amethyst to stop by, kay? I haven't seen her much, not since you were born. Now that you're a bit older, I figured she oughtta have a little more time."

"Oh, she's busy with gem stuff." Steven explained casually, and Spinel nodded her agreement.

Vidalia dismissed that with a wave of her hand, "Yeah, yeah, I know. It'd be nice to hear from her every now and again, though. Things have been hard since Marty stopped playing paying child support, and my precious little Onion ain't making things easier."

Steven just nodded along and listened. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell her!"

"That'd be super!" Vidalia dropped her cigarette and stomped it into the ground. "Well, anyway, I oughtta get goin' before Onion sets another trampoline on fire."

The groups said their goodbyes, and Steven and Spinel spent the rest of their day hanging around Funland. They didn't really ride and of the rides anymore, but the game stands were always fun, even if they were rigged. By days end, Steven had managed to win a small stuffed puma and Spinel had won two rubber ducks, one with a tailored suit and another in a bow and dress. She named them Mrs and Mr Quakers, and she was so excited when she learned they squeaked just like she did. In fact, ever since she discovered that she hadn't stopped squeezing them to beckon the noise. It was fine at first, but now it was just getting annoying.

As the heat of the day began to fade and the sun began to dip down over the ocean, soon to be swallowed up into the watery depths, they began back home. It was almost six; closing time for Fryman's fries. And that meant only one thing.

Steven slammed his fists down hard on the counter. "THE BITS!"

Spinel did the same, but her action was more exaggerated, and when she screamed those two words she did so with a bounce so that her springing noise would call even more attention to her. Soon, they were both chanting. Over and over and over.

It wasn't long before two blue eyes peered over the counter, narrowed but not exactly angry, and slightly obscured by dreadlocks of golden hair.

"Why don't you try ordering from the actual menu for once?" Peedee asked, resting his chin on the cold countertop.

"Well you're closed for one." Spinel pointed out.

"Yeah! And I always get the bits! Give me the bits!"

Out from the back came a tall man, nearly identical to Peedee in every aspect, except he was a much bigger build than his son. In one arm, he carried a mop bucket, and in the other he carried a tub of disinfectant wipes.

"It'll be easier if you just give him what he wants." said in a defeated tone.

Steven beamed with pride. Peedee took his father's words to heart, and made his way over to the fryer. He had to stand on a stool to properly lift the container from the still oil, and he had to move the stool to reach a bag to dump the bits inside.

"There ya go Steven."

Peedee sat there, his hand outstretched, and it couldn't be more obvious that he was waiting for payment. Steven returned the stare for a few awkward seconds before turning and walking away.

"Thanks Peedee!"

"Bya!" Spinel echoed.

Together, they raced the rest of the way down across the boardwalk and through the beach, and though Steven got slower as the sand weighed him down, Spinel only got faster. With each step her legs grew with a vibrant pink glow, and her arms began to do the same once she was nearly twice Steven's size. She continued to grow and stretch until she was even bigger than the beach house, and only then did she stop growing. She wrapped her arms around Steven's stomach and hoisted him up into the air.

"Who wants to spiiiin?" Her voice had a sing-song nature to it.

"Nooo!" Steven's playful objections were drowned out by laughter, and Spinel took that as her cue.

And then they were spinning, and at first that was all it was. Then Spinel started to go faster, lifting Steven up and down and up and down. So high he was sure he could touch the clouds, and so low he could run his feet across the sand. So fast they began to kick up a cloud of dust that, caught in the whirlwind, never settled back down and instead followed them. Steven had long since lost all sense of direction, and the only thing he could focus on was the pink smiling face spinning just as fast as he was.

Spinel was the only one who could stop them, and when she did, Steven's vision still followed the same dizzying track for seconds afterwards. Spinel's limbs slowly shrunk back down into her body, still holding Steven tightly against her chest, and soon they were floating in midair. Drifting down slowly, at a pace the heart gem regulated.

Both of them dissolve into nothing but laughter as they approached the sandy beach below. Steven could hardly breath, and the sharp pains of laughter began to stab him in his sides. Any time he'd try and stop himself, he'd only remember just why he was laughing and laugh some more. Eventually, both feet were planted firmly back on the ground, and when Spinel released her grip on him, Steven's legs immediately gave out on him and he fell hard on his back, and all the laughter stopped. The air was knocked from his chest, but the moment he breathed once again, the laughter was back. First from Steven, then from Spinel when she realized he was okay.

Spinel joined Steven in the sand, making as if she were going to fall just as hard as him, only to slowly drift the rest of the way down and land gently beside him.

Their happiness and dizzy bliss lasted only moments before, in a blinding flash of light, Steven's focus was drawn elsewhere. Both sat up fast, kicking up sand in their haste to run for the house.

"Gems are back, gems are back!"

Steven hopped up the stairwell two stairs at a time and busted through the door without stopping, straight into the open arms of Garnet.

"Garnet!"

Garnet was returning the hug the moment Steven initiated it. "Hello Steven."

Steven looked up at the large gem, into her eyes, even if the only eyes he saw were his own; Garnet's visors were so dark and reflective it was impossible to see past them.

"Yo, give me some hugs!"

Before Steven realized it, he was pulled off the ground and into the short, powerful arms of Amethyst. He did his best to return the hug, but it couldn't quite reach both arms around; Amethyst didn't seem to care, however, and just kept on hugging.

"Alright, alright, you're gonna suffocate him." Came the sing-song voice of Pearl.

Two gentle arms wrapped themselves around Steven, and lowered his safely to the ground. The moment his feet were on solid ground, Steven spun around and leapt into Pearl's arms. Pearl, not expecting the sudden embrace, nearly toppled over.

"Hi Pearl!" He looked over his shoulder, "Hi Amethyst!"

"So… whatcha do today?"

All four turned to look at Spinel; she had made herself at home on the couch, her hands folded behind her head and her legs crossed, falling over the edge.

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old." Answered Amethyst.

"Nothing to be concerned about." Garnet added.

"So what did _you _do today?" Pearl prompted.

Steven began to recount everything he did that day, from waking up in the morning, to walking around Fun Land and winning prizes, to Spinel playing with him at the beach. When he got to that part, Pearl nearly broke into a rant about how unsafe that is, but a sharp look from Garnet silenced her objections. Amethyst seemed particularly happy to her about Vadalia.

"She said you haven't visited much since I was born." Steven went on.

"Yeah, because you were such a pain in the butt." Amethyst pulled Steven close and messed up his hair, "And ya still are!"

"Amethyst!" Steven tried to escape, but it was no use; he couldn't hold back his laughter as he tried to pry his head free of Amethyst's grasp, "Let go."

"What? If you can't handle a little noogie now and then, how you gonna go on super dangerous missions with us, huh Birthday boy?"

Steven was finally free, and the first thing he did was stare directly into Amethyst's eyes. "It's not my birthday yet, Amethyst."

Amethyst shrugged. "Eh. Not like I keep track of that stuff anyway."

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded, then turned to Steven, "Of course we wouldn't forget your birthday."

Garnet adjusted her visors. "_I _never forget anything."

"Yes." Pearl suddenly straightened up and hurried way toward the bathroom, "Then perhaps you can remember that we're only here for a short while. So we have to make the most of it." Pearl remerged, holding the hamper half-full of Steven's dirty clothes.

Steven's heart dropped. "You're going out again?"

"We have to, Steven." Garnet answered at once.

"Yeah." Amethyst made her way past them and leapt onto the couch right beside Spinel; the two of them barely fit. "Ever since those gem mutants escaped, we gots to round 'em all up! Hey S, you mind?"

"Nope!" Spinel stuck her tongue out in concentration as she stretched her arm into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out whatever was nearest, and returning it to their place on the couch.

"Sweet!" Amethyst grabbed the bowl, which just happened to be left-over spaghetti, and ripped off the foil wrapping.

Steven looked away as soon as he realized what was going to happen, but even that couldn't prepare him for the scraping, crunching sound as Amethyst ate the silver covering as if it were an apple.

Garnet kneeled down to Steven's height. "What have you got there?"

Before Steven could answer, there was a shriek from behind him.

"NOT ON THE COUCH!"

Then Amethyst was racing past him on all fours, a mess of sauce coating her hands and face, while Pearl gave pursuit and swung at her with a broom. Steven did his best to ignore it.

"I got donuts for you and Amethyst!"

The sound of her name seemed to draw Amethyst to them, and Pearl wasn't too far behind. She seemed to have given up the assult, but the broom was still placed neatly under her arm.

"Give, give, give!" Amethyst growled, motioning with her hands for the bag, "Mama wants some donuts!"

Pearl scoffed. "Can't you show a little restraint?"

"Nope!"

"Here." Steven pulled out the two donuts he'd for Amethyst, and she immediately seized and devoured them, paper and all. Pearl looked as if she was going to be sick. Steven turned to Garnet. "I only got you one, I hope that okay?"

Garnet gave a patient smile and held out her hand, "Of course."

Steven gave her the donut, and she looked it over in one hand. She looked up and used her free hand to ruffle Steven's hair before standing back up and taking the smallest of bites. She had always been a neat eater; the neatest Steven had ever seen! She never even dropped a single sprinkle!

Steven turned lastly to Pearl.

"I know you don't really like to eat, but I didn't want you to be left out, so I won you this."

Steven pulled the stuffed puma from his pockets and placed him gently into Pearl's expectant hands. At first Pearl seemed confused, but confusion soon gave way to a wide smile and even wider eyes,

"Thank you Steven." Her voice wavered, "I'll treasure him forever."

She closed her eyes, and from the gem on her forehead came a light. She light descended upon the puma, and then the puma became light itself and was gone. Pearl opened her eyes, and the light was gone too.

Garnet had finished her donut and was wiping her mouth with a napkin; Steven wasn't quite sure where she got it from.

"Thank you Steven. It was delicious."

Steven was filled with pride. He _knew _Garnet would like it!

Pearl looked down at her wrist, though Steven was certain she had never worn a watch, and said, "We've been here for exactly seven minutes. We gotta hurry if we want to find that Feldspar before it begins to burrow."

"Right." Garnet stepped back onto the white platform, and Pearl was already way ahead of her. "Amethyst."

Amethyst looked up, saw the other two on the platform, and hurried past Steven to join them. She turned to Steven and gave two finger-guns.

"See you later, alligator."

Steven glumly returned the motion. "In a while, crocodile!"

Pearl raised a brow. "I don't know about alligators and crocodiles, but you won't be seeing us again until morning, Steven. It's almost your bedtime."

Steven pouted. "I know."

"Oh, and Steven."

Steven looked up to Garnet as she spoke.

"I love you."


	2. Red Eye in the Sky

**Notice: A few things before this series continues.**

**First, I would like to thank everyone reading so far, and I hope that I can continue to give you quality SU content here on out. I plan to post weekly, sometimes twice a week if any chapter is particularly short. If there is going to be any delay, I will be sure to let you know. As of now, I'm planning on posting new chapters every week on Thursday, so be on the lookout!**

**Another thing; this series will be interactable by you the readers; what I mean by that is, if you have any ideas or suggestions for the series, and I find them interesting, I may add them to the canon of this story (With your consent and given credit, of course). This can extend to new plots, new characters, or unique scenes between characters that you would love to see. **

**PS: In this series, Spinel currently looks like her movie self (scraggly hair, inverted heart, etc) but that can and will change as the series moves on. The only difference between this form and her canon form is a large, healed scar across her heart. Without further adieu, please enjoy the chapter!**

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleaase?"

"No!"

"PLEASE!"

"NO!"

Peedee was turning red from his screaming match, and he gave a furious leap as he shouted that last _no_. Steven put on a tough-guy face, pounding his fists on the counter.

"The bits, the bits!"

Gradually, Amethyst and Spinel joined in the chanting.

"The bits, the bits, the bits, THE BITS!"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Peedee pulled at his hair and squeezed his eyes shut, "You're not allowed to order off-menu anymore!"

"But I _always _get the bits." Steven pouted.

"_That's _the problem!" Peedee said, "And you NEVER PAY!"

"It's not like your using them!"Steven sunk dramatically into the dirt. "And I _need _them!"

"No you don't!" Peedee shouted.

Steven gave a pathetic cry and crawled his way back onto the counter.

"Please."

"No!" Peedee stood firm in his judgement.

"Booo!" Came a shout from Amethyst.

"Give him the bits!" Came Spinel's addition.

Steven looked longingly beyond Peedee, to where the fryers sat still and cold, with their precious bits cold at the bottom, no hope of being eaten by a poor, hungry boy. But then there _was _hope, and it walked through the back door with its nose in a cell phone.

"Ronaldo!" Steven cried out, "Give me the bits!"

Ronaldo shushed Steven much louder than was necessary. "I'm busy!"

Spinel's arm spiraled into a spring and she scratched the top of her head while Peedee gave a shrill, short-lived sound of shock and flinched away from the abnormal activity. "It doesn't look like he's doing much of anything."

"Hey!" Amethyst scolded playfully, "Doing nothing is a _professional _career."

Peedee, who seemed to have snapped out of his freezing-fear, retreated behind his older brother, his eyes ever trained on Spinel. Ronaldo gasped, looking down at his brother with a bitter expression. "Peedee, I'm _working."_

"That's lady's crazy!" Peedee cried out, pointing a finger accusingly at the bouncy, pink gem.

Spinel tilted her head, looked behind her, then looked back at Steven and shrugged her confusion.

"He's probably didn't know you're not human." Steven offered.

That summoned a gasp from both of the Fryman brothers.

"You're not human?!" Said the younger.

"You're an _alien_!" Said the older. "Call the CIA!" When Peedee went to actually grab the phone, Ronaldo stopped him, "Wait, no. They'll try to cover it up, like they did at Roswell…"

Peedee was on the verge of tears. "Who's Roswell?" He hugged tight to his brothers arm, "Are they gonna eat us?"

Amethyst laughed, and jabbed Steven in the ribs. "Hey, watch this…"

Amethyst jumped up on the counter, and both brothers fell back against the far wall with cries of horror. "We are the elite, sent to eat delicious humans."

Spinel seemed to catch onto the joke and joined in, "Yes, and to dip them…" Her arm extended dangerously close to Peedee's head, and Peedee tried feebly to slap her away. She snatched the bottle of ketchup behind him. "And dip them in ketchup!"

Spinel waved the bottle in front of the two of them. Amethyst, unable or unwilling to keep the joke going any longer, leap back off the counter with a dorkish laugh. "I'm just kiddin'! But we will take those bits though, fry boy."

Spinel retracted her arm and took the ketchup with her, hugging it tight to her gem. "And I'm keeping it!"

Peedee struggled to do as Amethyst said, gathering the bits with shaky hands and passing them slowly over the counter. When Spinel reached for the bag, Peedee screamed and let it fall to the ground as he ran back to the safety behind the counter. Steven got the bits up from off the floor and waved at the brothers.

"Thanks Peedee!"

He reached into the bag and took out a handful of the bits, shoving them in his mouth. Amethyst snatched the bag from Steven and did the same before offering it to Spinel. She accepted, but took a much smaller bite than Steven and Amethyst.

"Yo Spinel," Amethyst said, "Ketchup me!"

The purple lady's mouth hung open, her tongue lolling out. Spinel tucked the bag of bits under her arm then grabbed onto the large ketchup bottle. Sticking out her own tongue in concentration, she aimed the nozzle, then shot the red condiment out with such a force that it flew through the air and directly into Amethyst open mouth.

"Bullseye!"

Spinel cheered, throwing her arms into the air. Amethyst swallowed her mouthful and then did the same. Amethyst then turned back to the cowering humans, and revealed her teeth stained red, and that same red dripping her chin and looking ominous like blood. Peedee finally seemed to gain some sense and retreated out the back of the door, and his screams faded away down the boardwalk. Ronaldo narrowed his eyes, pointed to them with his pointer and middle finger, then did the same motion toward Amethyst before screaming, "Wait up, little bro!" And running after Peedee.

After that, all three of the Crystal Gems dissolved into laughter. Steven tried not to, but its will to escape was far greater than his will to hold it back.

"That was mean Amethyst."

"Yeah." Amethyst agreed, "But it sure was funny!"

This was followed by more laughter, and it _was _funny. Steven suddenly caught onto the fact that Spinel wasn't laughing, and that immediately made his own laughter stop.

"Spinel…?" He asked. Amethyst had only just begun to catch on.

"Whoa!" Spinel said at last, "_What _is that?"

Steven was confused, then it was followed by realization, then fear. He looked where Spinel was looking; to the sky.

"What the…"

Amethyst had finally caught on. "Uh. Maybe we should go find the others..."

Steven and Spinel nodded their agreement, and off they went. Before they could get far, Spinel grabbed Steven and threw him up onto her shoulders; they were much faster that way. Spinel made her legs longer, much longer, to take bigger steps as they raced across the beach. Amethyst, not having to look after Steven, could put all her energy in her dash; something Steven likened to Sonic. Her body was curled tight into itself, and her hair had folded around her like a cocoon as she easily pulled ahead, fast, accurate, and kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake.

Spinel and Steven arrived on the shore nearly a minute after Amethyst already had. She stood in the middle of Pearl and Garnet, and the latter two had knelt down to her height. The whispers exchanged between them ceased immediately as the final two Crystal Gems arrived. Spinel let Steven off her shoulders and shrunk back to her normal size.

"Whoa!" Spinel said, putting a hand over her eyes, "That thing sure is big!"

It _was _big. Big and round, like an eye. Red in color, and far too bright to look at directly.

"Yes," Pearl agreed, "And getting even bigger by the second."

"Whoa!" Steven said, "It's a giant eyeball! Awesome!"

"No it's not!" Pearl scolded him,

"This is very serious." Garnet said and her voice, though quiet, was enough to silence those around her for a short while.

When someone was finally brave enough to speak, it was Steven. "What _is _it?"

"It's a Red Eye." Garnet confirmed.

"Well what does it want?" Spinel asked, walking up beside the rest of her team.

"I don't know." Garnet admitted, "But if it keeps getting closer, it's eventually going to destroy everything in its path."

"I haven't seen one since the war." Pearl breathed, "I can't believe they even still use them…"

"Pearl." Was all Garnet needed to say to silence the pearl.

"What are we gonna do?" Steven asked.

Pearl's look darkened, and she averted her gaze to the ground, holding on tight to her forearm. "Rose would usually shoot them out of the sky."

_Mom. _

Garnet immediately stepped forward, and even though her visor hid her eyes, it was very clear she was looking at Pearl. "Rose isn't here, and neither is her cannon..." Her voice dripped with acidity, but all of that biting chill faded away as she turned to address Spinel. "Spinel, try to grab that thing out of the sky."

Spinel looked up at the larger gem then quickly said, "I'll do my best!" At first her arms went to cross over each other but, thinking better of it, she put one arm at her side and saluted with the other one.

Spinel walked to the very edge of the beach, gaze up at the _Red Eye, _and shot her arms out over the ocean. They stretched on and on, faster and faster, over the horizon and up to the skies until they eventually reached their target. Once she was able to reach it, Spinel wrapped her arms around the hull of the machine twice over, and tried to pull it out of the sky. The Red-Eye didn't budge, but Spinel sure did. Her arms were stretched so long and so thin that Steven could liken them to a rubber band that was about to snap, and still she continued to pull, digging her heels into the sand.

Amethyst threw her arms around Spinel's waist, as if she could help pull somehow. "C'mon!" She said, "You can do it!"

Noticing the scene take place, Pearl seemed to see some sort of plausibility in Amethyst's technique and decided to help; she wrapped her arms around Amethyst's waist, and proceed to pull her in the same manor she was pulling Spinel. Soon, even Garnet had joined in, and Steven, not wanting to be left out, joined in behind Garnet. He couldn't quite reach her waist, so he had to settle for her leg.

They pulled for nearly five minutes with no luck, even with their collective strengths digging into the ground. Eventually garnet simply let go on Pearl and said, "This isn't going to work."

Spinel stopped pulling. She brought her arms out of the stratosphere and back to her body, holding them over her chest and looking meekly up at her leader. "Sorry."

Garnet showed no emotion. "Not your fault. Even a perfect cut can only do so much."

Steven blinked. "What does that mean?"

His question was ignored. "We need to try something else." Garnet said.

Immediately, Amethyst offered herself up. "Yo, throw me at it!"

Garnet's visor flashed from red to blue as she adjusted them, and then went back to red once they rested once more. "It's worth a shot."

"Why don't we just get mom's cannon?" Steven suggested.

All eyes were suddenly on him.

"Steven…" Pearl said slowly, "We haven't seen Rose's cannon in years. I'm not even sure _she _knew where she put it."

"And we don't have time to tear up half the town looking for it." Garnet said calmly, "We have to figure out another way, and Amethyst's idea is better than nothing."

"Maybe dad knows where it is!"

That was followed by immediate silence, and the immediate silence was followed by laughter; Pearl and Garnet, however, was not amused.

"Steven…" Pearl started gently, "I don't think she would leave something as important as her Light Cannon with someone like… er… like Greg."

Steven looked up at Pearl. "Why not?"

Now all four of the older gems were looking uncomfortable, all the same, trying to avoid some awkward conversation. Pearl bent down to be eye-to-eye with Steven, while the others simply faded into the background.

"Steven. Greg can be a little… empty-headed. Especially when it comes to gem stuff."

There was a guttural scream as Amethyst flew through the air, propelled by a powerful throw from Garnet, and disappeared into the blinding light of the Red Eye. Moments later she was falling straight down, and fell beneath the waves of the ocean. Pearl shook her head in disappointment, then turned back to Steven.

"I appreciate the thought, Steven, but we really need to focus on getting this _thing _out of the sky."

With that, Pearl joined Garnet at the shore, presumably waiting to Amethyst to wash back up, and Steven just stood and watched. Sure, his dad wasn't as smart as Garnet or Pearl, but he wasn't dumb, and he certainly wasn't _empty-headed. _And of course he wasn't as knowledgeable at gem stuff. He _wasn't _a gem. How could he know as much as them? Or even half as much! Even Steven didn't know a lot, and he was part gem!

At once, Steven made up his mind. "Dad _has _to know _something_…"

His dad's car wash was on the opposite side of town; the town wasn't very big, but neither was Steven. It would take him awhile to get there, and he had no idea how long it was until the Red Eye would get too close. Would he be able to get to the wash and back, with enough time to find the cannon? He sure hoped so; it was all he could think to do, and he had to get going if he stood any chance of achieving it. Before Steven could so much as take a step, however, he was pulled back by his hand, followed by a chipper voice.

"Don't forget your best friend Spinel!"

Steven looked from Spinel to the town on the opposite side. Spinel _would _be able to get them there faster, and he doubted Garnet would miss her. They never missed her on any of their missions, so why would this mission be any different?

"Okay Spinel." Steven said with a smile, "Let's go!"

Spinel beamed at that, and her eyes lit up like stars.

"We're going to find my dad." Steven explained, "He's probably at his car wash, we can make it if we hurry."

Spinel bounced and squeaked, "Okie dokie!"

There was another scream as Amethyst was thrown once again into the air. Steven didn't spare the time to look, and instead grabbed Spinel by the hand and pulled her alongside him. It was slow at first, but then they reached the boardwalk, and they began to pick up speed. A flat surface made for even walking, and the path continued to even out as they went from the wooden boardwalk to the asphalt sidewalk. It wasn't long before Steven began to run out of breath and resolve.

His legs hurt, his lungs hurt, his sides hurt. Each breath was quicker and more painful than the last, and with each step the stitch in his side grew to a burning. Spinel, however, seemed to be able to go forever; that was the only thing keeping Steven going. That, and the fact that if he didn't do this, there would be no Beach City left for him to protect when he was finally able to go on missions. The last thought brought the smallest hint of life back into his body, and gave him just enough energy to keep going.

Half-way there, Spinel decided to have some fun. Before Steven had realized it, Spinel has slowed down to match his pace and began to greatly exaggerated her motions; her legs spun in pinwheels, far too flexible to be human and bending in an impossible manor, with her arms locked at her side and her hands balled into fists. She was leaning to far ahead it was a wonder she didn't fall; her balance never faltered once.

It took everything Steven had not to laugh, and he did his best to join in. He didn't even try to move his legs like she was moving hers, and he didn't want to risk leaning quite as far as she was. Instead, he stuck his arms out directly behind him and narrowed his eyes to look cooler. Spinel took this as a challenge and copied his run, only better. This started a back and forth between them; Steven would do the most outrageous, over exaggerated run he could muster, and Spinel would do her best to copy him; the movements seemed to come to her as easily as if she'd been doing it her whole life. Somehow, time seemed to pass faster, and they soon came to face _It's a Wash _car wash_._

"Look!" Spinel said, and she pointed, "There's his van!"

The van was parked just outside the garage, off-white and bearing the telltale _Mr. Universe _on each of its side. It was impossible to see through any of the windows, all obscured by dark coverings on the inside, so no one could see in. Steven hurried to the hood. Previous experiences had told him it was no use trying to climb up the back, and those same past experiences told him how he _could_ get on the top. Crawling ove rthe top, struggling across the glass windshield, and pulling his weight up to the best of his ability; Spinel helped him the rest of the way up.

"DAD!" Steven jumped as high as he could and came down on the top, "DAAAAD!"

Spinel knocked on the back door. "Mr Univerrrrrse! Mr UNIVERSE! GREG!"

Whether it was Steven's stomping or Spinel's shouting, the point seemed to get through to Steven's dad. The aging, sun-burnt man stumbled out into the light with a wild look in his eyes and a waffle iron in his hands. Despite his severe sunburn, he had seen no reason to cover up, and wore no shirt, but thankfully had the sense to wear shorts. His hair, usually down past his knees, was nearly straight up in tangles.

Greg Universe swung the waffle around at nothing, all the while saying, "Who's there? I've got a waffle iron and I'm not afraid to use it!" One look down answered his question, and he lowered the iron. "Oh, it's you. Spinel, right?"

"And me!" Steven leapt down from the van and onto his father's back. Greg very nearly fell, but was held up at the last second by a quick-thinking Spinel.

"Stewball!" Greg cried out, breathless, wrapping his arms around his back to support his son's legs, "You nearly scared the pants off me!"

Steven laughed. "I know!" He slowly slid down his father's back until he felt safe enough to leap down the rest of the way, then he ran around and hugged his father from the front. "Dad!"

"Hey, hey, I'm here." Greg returned the hug, "Why are you so freaked out?"

"We need to find mom's canon." Steven explained quickly.

"_Canon? _Why?" Greg quickly brushed over his own question, "Is this another gem thing? Garnet told me not to get involved, or else it might interfere with my ability to _live. _Or with what's left of my hair." Greg rubbed his hand across his bald spot.

"The gems don't know where it is!" Steven said.

"Yeah!" Spinel agreed, "And if we can't find it, _that _is definitely gonna interfere with your ability to live!" She pointed to the Red Eye in the distance.

"Holy smokes!" There was a distant scream as the smallest silhouette of Amethyst was thrown once more. "Uh. Maybe it's in storage. Here, hop in the back, we'll go check it out."

Steven threw his arms up in the air. "Road trip!"

All three of them piled into the car, Steven and Spinel in the back and Greg up front. Steven had never been out of town before, and if he had, he didn't remember. Some time later, they passed a sign that told them the speed limit, though Steven suspected his dad was going faster than it said; he told his dad he wouldn't tell and was thanked for it.

When the trees gave way to houses, Greg slowed to match the limit, and eventually pulled into a parking lot. From there, he led them to a particular storage unit and opened it with a key on his key chain.

"Huh." Steven said, "I always wondered what that key went to."

"I've had this unit since you were just a baby." Greg said, "It's been forever since I've used it though."

The moment he opened the unit, that statement became even clearer. Piles upon piles of artifacts, stacked on top of each other, coated in a layer of dust. Old TVs, scattered drawers all seeming to belong to the same thing, whatever it used to be. Propane tanks, blankets both folded and carelessly forgotten. Toys and furniture and cages and old posters. Everything Steven could possibly think of, some he couldn't, and right down the middle, a path that led deeper into the dark.

"Here," Greg said, and he tossed a flashlight to Steven, "You might need this."

Steven flicked it on. The light was faint, but it was there. Steven looked to Spinel, shrugged, and went inside.

The heat hit before anything else, and then came the smell. Not exactly bad, but far from good. Old, musty, and filled with dust that made him cough and hack. More than once he ran into spiderwebs, but it was easy to brush them off. Worst case scenario, he'd have to take a shower. Best case, he'd get to meet a new spider friend!

"Wow." Greg's voice sounded far away, "I haven't seen some of this junk in decades! This is one of my old CD's! I bet it still works too! I thought I'd lost these slippers! Wow. Who knows what you could find in there!"

"An alligator, I hope." Steven joked, and it invoked a laugh from outside.

"I don't think you'll find one of those, Stewball."

"Probably not." Steven agreed, "It would be cool, though!"

Spinel popped out suddenly from within a pile of trash. Her hair was even worse than usual, and she was covered in cobwebs and dust. "I found a yo-yo!" And then she was gone again, back into the sea of forgotten treasures.

The passage tightened around Steven so close that the junk brushed against his shoulders, until suddenly opening into a large space near the back, mostly void of the claustrophobic surroundings. A rug changed the cold stone floor into a soft, warm one, and there was a fan against one wall and a heater against the other, both long forgotten and both connected to an extension cord socket. Attached to that same extension cord was a wire that fed into an old box TV, clouded gray by collective dust. On its opposite end, beside where Steven had come through, was a couch, and in front of the couch where a coffee table would usually go was a bassinet. Strewn all around the floor were clothes and toys and children's books, in some semblance of organized.

Steven gasped. His amazement was shared by Spinel, who had popped out from behind the couch just in time to take in the scene too.

"Dad!" Steven called, "I found a living room!"

"No kidding!" Greg called back, "I'd nearly forgotten about that!"

Steven ventured forward and shined his light into the bassinet. Spinel climbed over the couch and peered into it as well, and her eyes lit up like fireworks as she reached inside.

"What is this place?" Steven asked.

"We'll, for us, it used to be home! For the first couple years of your life, actually, until we went to live with Vidalia."

"We _lived _in here? Is that even legal."

Greg gave a nervous laugh. "Er. No. But it was the cheapest thing I could afford, and I wasn't exactly in a good place back then.

"I remember this!" Spinel's chipper voice jutted in, and Steven turned to see what she was talking about, "This was your favorite bear! you'd always bring it with you whenever you'd come to visit!"

Steven reached for the bear, and Spinel happily handed it over. It was a pathetic little thing, white with a blue hat and forever holding a blue blanket, its eyes etched close. Stuffing and stitches had long ago come loose, and the bear was near flat.

"Didn't the gems invite you to live with them?" Steven asked hopefully. Surely the gems wouldn't have knowingly let them stay here, when they were close to her mom, and so close to him.

"There was nowhere _to _stay back then." Greg said, "The beach house wasn't even a thing back then, it was just the temple. In fact, they built the beach house just for you."

Steven felt fuzzy inside. "Really?"

"Yeah! They couldn't wait for you to come live with them, and it was too dangerous for you to be wandering around the temple."

"Hey Steven, look at this!"

Steven turned to Spinel just in time to see her start tossing three bowling pins in the air, watching them fall, only to catch them last minute and to keep the sport going. One pin, two pin, three pin. Up, down, and back up again. Her hands started to work faster, and the pins started to fly faster, until they were going so fast he couldn't focus on a single pin for more than a half-second. Something about it, something about _her, _moving so fast and cartoonish was just so funny that Steven began to laugh. And then something else began to happen.

All Steven saw was pink. Pink. Coming from _somewhere. _Coming from _him! _From his _gem._

Steven lifted his shirt, to be sure, to know what he was seeing was true. Spinel let the bowling pins fall to the ground, all three of them hitting her on the way down, but she didn't care. She was slacked jawed and buggy-eyed, even more than usual.

"Your gem!" She cried.

"My gem!" Steven echoed.

"What about your gem?" Greg asked, "What's going on in there."

"Look!"

Spinel pointed to a second glow, one hidden beneath a pile of dirty laundry resting on something oddly shaped. Something _cannon _shaped.

"Mom's cannon!"

Steven ran to it; he was _pulled _to it. More accurately, his gem was. Or was it pulled toward his gem? It didn't matter! He had found it! He found the cannon! Now all he had to do was get it out of there.

"You guys actually _found _it?" Greg sounded genuinely impressed.

"Yeah!" Steven called, "We just gotta get it out!"

"Hold on, I'll help."

With all three of them pushing, even though Spinel was very little help, they were able to get the cannon through the impossibly tight squeeze and out into the open. The Red Eye was closer than ever now, and lit up the sky like a second sun, only bigger. Much bigger. No doubt the people of Beach City were starting to take notice, starting to panic, and some of the smarter ones maybe preparing to evacuate.

"Guys, I have some bad news." Greg said, "This isn't gonna fit in the van."

"What?" Was Steven could think to say.

"It's just not gonna fit." Greg said again, "It's too big, and even if we could squeeze it in, I'm not sure the van would _move _with all the extra weight."

Steven felt defeated. The only flicker of hope they had at blowing up that Red Eye was the cannon, and they couldn't even get it to the beach! Could they shoot it from here? Steven didn't even know how to activate it!

"I have an idea!" Spinel chimed in, and then strolled over to the van. She looked it over; it's windows, it's doors. She gave the latter an experimental tug, and they came open with ease. She hummed her thoughts, and leaned down. When she came back up, she had a large rock in her hand.

"What are you planning to do with that?" Greg asked, and his voice was overflowing with uneasy concern.

Spinel hummed once more and then brought the rock down on the window, shattering it right down the center.

"MY VAN!"

Spinel didn't stop there. She was sure to push out every piece of glass she could see before going onto the second window. Though Greg tried to stop her, Spinel was faster, and she shattered that window just as she had the first.

"Wasn't there an option where my van _didn't _get murdered?"

"Nope!"

All the glass was gone now, and Spinel put her plan into order. She climbed partially into the van and stretched her torso around both the window panes twice. As she went on, Steven began to realize what she was trying to do, and he felt dumb for not thinking of it first. Spinel was so stretchy and durable that she acted as the perfect rope, and the perfect way to transport the cannon.

"Good idea, Spinel!" Steven called.

"What exactly am I looking at?" Greg asked.

"A genius!" Spinel replied, then stretched out her arms, "And a rope!"

She wrapped her arms around the base of the canon nearly a dozen times and gave it an experimental tug. The cannon didn't move, but neither did she. Now, Greg was starting to get the picture, and he looked to Steven and shrugged. Both father and son climbed into the van, driver and passenger. Greg started the van slow at first, and Steven looked into the back to monitor Spinel and the cannon both. The van jerked to a stop when Spinel reached her current limit, but it just as quickly began to roll again, bringing both gem and cannon along with it.

"Is she gonna be okay back there?" Greg asked, adjusting the mirror to observe the scene as it unfolded. He glanced quickly down at his son, then back at the road.

Steven thought, and then he shrugged.

"Oh boy."

Looking out the window, Steven became very aware of just how slow they were moving. "Can't the van go any faster?"

"Not if you want it to stay in one piece."

They stayed at that pace the rest of the way to the beach. Driving through the city, it became apparent that people had either taken refuge, or had evacuated. The streets were empty, even more so than usual for the small town. The boardwalk was abandoned, and Funland's rides had stopped moving.

"I hope we're not too late."

They made it to the beach to find Garnet right where they left her, but Pearl nowhere to be found. Just in time to see a dolphin leap ashore. At first Steven thought it was a normal dolphin, but then it noticed it was purple, not blue, and he noticed the encrusted gem embedded in its chest.

"Throw me again, I think I was cracking it!" Amethyst told Garnet as she became herself once more, "Maybe if I turn into an elephant…"

"STEVEN!"

It was neither Garnet or Amethyst who said that, but Pearl. Steven looked to see the pale-faced, pointy-nosed crystal gem run out of the beach house, holding a number of appliances; microwaves, hair straighteners, hair dryers. All looked like she had fished them out of Amethyst's room. She dropped them immediately once she saw what was behind the van.

"My junk!" Amethyst cried indignantly.

Steven stuck his head out the window. "Look what I found!"

"Whoa!"

"The cannon!"

"You found it!"

"It was in dad's old storage unit with a bunch of old junk." Steven explained.

"Unbelievable." Pearl breathed, "He _actually _had it."

Amethyst jumped in front of Pearl. "We're saved!"

Garnet gently untied Spinel from the cannon and helped her down before pushing the cannon through the sand, toward the water, with Pearl following right behind her. Spinel collapsed to the ground in relief, not yet returning her limbs to their normal length, and laid there in the sand. Amethyst gave her a gentle pat on the head, and grabbed her by the shoulders, attempting to help her to stand. She was about as limp as a stuffed doll, and after a few seconds of her legs giving out, Amethyst gave up and dropped Spinel back to the ground before hurrying to join the rest of the gems on the shore.

"Steven." Garnet called, and that was all she said.

"I'll just wait in the van." Greg told Steven, and he did just that.

The moment Steven took a step away from Spinel, she shot back up, good as new, and quickly followed at his side.

"We have to activate it now."

All eyes were on Steven. "I don't know how to do it!" Steven said when he realized what was expected of him, "This is my first time ever seeing it!"

Amethyst looked to Garnet and Pearl. "What did Rose usually do?"

Garnet looked to Pearl.

"I don't know!" Pearl cried, "She'd just kind of aim it and it her gem would do the rest."

"Steven." Garnet knelt down beside Steven, "Try and activate it."

"But I don't know how…"

"Just trust in your gem." Garnet tapped on Steven's gem through his shirt, and Steven laughed.

"That tickles."

Garnet gave the faintest hint of a smile, and then grabbed Steven and sat him on the cannon.

"We'll aim it for you." Garnet said, "You just try to get it to work."

The four crystal gems obeyed Garnet's order, and hurried to help, even if Garnet was doing most of the work. Up, a little down, a little to the left, until they got it perfect.

"Now Steven."

Steven closed his eyes. _Please work. Please please please please. They're all watching, they're all waiting._

Nothing happened. Steven lifted his shirt to look down at his gem, and it was just as dull as it always was. He put his shirt back down and tried again; he could feel the heat of tears beginning to burn his eyes. _It has to work. They're all depending on me to be like mom. I have to be like mom. Please, gem, work with me._

Again there was nothing. Steven opened his eyes once more, and this let the tears come. His heart was pounding out of his chest, his gut tightened around itself, and his gem remained as dark as the cannon he sat on.

"Deep breaths Steven." Garnet said, "Take your time."

Steven took Garnet's advice and breathed deeply. It _did _seem to work. He looked back to thank Garnet, but found his eyes immediately drawn to Amethyst and Spinel. They were on complete opposite sides, and both working hard to maintain the balance of the cannon, yet somehow Spinel still somehow has stretched her leg long enough to be tapping Amethyst on the shoulder without altering either Garnet or Pearl to her game. Amethyst played along, trying to capture the foot any way she could. So out of place, so random. Steven began to laugh, and his gem began to glow.

"Good job Steven!" Pearl cheered.

"Hold steady everyone!" Garnet called, everyone obeyed, and the game was over, but Steven still laughed.

With a blast of pure, white light, out from the heart of the cannon, shot a rose-shaped array of shining radiance. At first, it was just the bud, but then it opened its petals to the world and inside was a person. A woman, with white eyes and a body of pink stardust and a dress of royal elegance. Steven could do nothing more than stare.

Then it was over. The rose struck the Red Eye, and it froze in place. Then it began to crack, and then it shattered into a thousand pieces, all raining down through the atmosphere like a meteor shower, lighting up the sky like a firework show.

"Wooo!"

"You save most of Beach City!"

"I can't believe it actually did it."

"I can; I knew he could."

"Rose."

That last word made Steven tear up once more, and then cry again. This time, however, the tears were happy, and _he _was happy as he ran into his father's arms for a hug.


	3. Connie Maheswaran

**The next chapter is very long and may take a little longer to write, so please bare with me and I'll try to get it out as fast as I can**

The 'bike' was easier to carry than Steven had expected, and only once he had begun carrying it did he start to realize why, and how simple it was. He held the bike with ease in one hand and used his other to guide his way across the railing as he descended toward the beach. He had everything he needed; a bike to ride, a helmet for protection, and the still-frozen gow band around his wrist burning a numbs spot on his skin. He was nearly at the bottom when it happened again, and holding the bike was suddenly hard rather than easy, though that was mostly to avoid dropping it as the earth quivered beneath his feet, stopping just as quickly as it started.

He wondered sourly why that kept happening as he made his way down the rest of the stairs and into the hot sand.

"I don't think they're earthquakes..."

Steven froze at the familiar voice.

"...They're far too frequent. That's the third one today!"

The three gems appeared soon after that, out from behind the stony outcrop, and all three of them froze. Pearl, Spinel, and Garnet.

"Look!" Spinel pointed, "Steven's got a bike!"

Pearl stared, and then she narrowed her eyes and said, "Where did you…"

She didn't have to finish the sentence before the bike spoke back to her. "It's my. I'm the bike."

"Amethyst!" Steven scolded, "Bike's don't talk!"

"Sorry."

"I see." Pearl said slowly.

"Anyway, I'm uh. Just going out for a ride."

Pearl looked around. "In the sand?"

"Yup!"

Steven hopped on the bike seat and petaled away as fast as the sand would allow; a normal bike would have toppled over at the slow speed, but Amethyst was able to keep balance on her own. One less thing Steven needed to worry about.

"Have… fun." Pearl said as Steven crawled past.

Steven felt hot, and it had nothing to do with the sun. He patted the handlebars and whispered, "Amethyst? Think you could go a little faster?"

"You got it, Steve-man!"

Steven got a little more than he bargained for when the wheels began to turn on their own accord. The sand did little to prevent this, and Amethyst seemed to forget Steven was even riding her until he said, "Okay, okay, slow down!"

Amethyst obeyed, and the bike lurched to a stop. Steven took the lead from there, no longer pedaling, but instead pulling the bike along with him in an awkward waddle that he greatly preferred to the alternative. Right to where he needed to be…

Sitting in a patch of grass sprouting out through the sand, in the shade of both the temple and the cliffside it was dug out in, was the girl. She barely noticed him. Once, looked up from her book, acknowledged him with a slight nod and smile, and then returned to her reading. Steven climbed awkwardly off of Amethyst and set up her kickstand.

"Hmm. I see. Yes. This bike is made of… bike."

He looked back at the girl, but she wasn't paying attention. Around his age, dark skinned, dark eyed, and dark haired. Everything about her was dark, but she gave off a light that made Steven fluster inside.

"It has a kickstand, to hold it up." Steven went on, inching onto his toes, "Some chains to make it go."

Still nothing. He was beginning to realize this wasn't going to work. Maybe a different approach? Maybe he'd go out for donuts and accidently buy one more than he needed…

"Steven, my stand."

He wondered what her favorite flavor was. Maybe pink, like Spinel's favorite, or blue like Amethyst's. You could never go wrong with chocolate, and sprinkles would always be welcome. He could just ride over to the Big Donut and pick up some.

"Steven, my stand."

He could also see how Lars and Sadie were doing while he was over there. Sadie was a girl; maybe she could give him some pointers.

"Steven, my stand!"

As Steven went to pedal off, something caught in the sand, and a moment too late he realized what had happened, but it was too late. He was like he was falling in slow motion, and then he had a mouth full of hot sand. Amethyst had fallen too, back to herself from the collision, and had cushioned Steven's fall every so slightly.

This finally caught the girl's attention, but not in a good way. She looked up with a judgemental flash in her eyes and a shocked look on her face, and then she was laughing. She was laughing at him. All at once Steven was overwhelmed, and to make matters worse his frustration came out in the way of a loud cry. Tears making hot spots across his face, streaked with sand, he ripped off his helmet and threw it to the ground. He wasn't aware of the journey to the house; he only realized he had blocked it out once he had stopped and stood in his living room face to face with the rest of the Crystal Gems, minus Amethyst, who had barely begun to make her way through the doorway.

It was a very rare sight for all three gems, so different in temperament, to be wearing the same expression. The only one who had not taken to staring at him with wide eyes, open mouths, and concerned looks was Amethyst, who had casually pulled a can of coke from her gem and begun to indulge herself. Then, with a burp, she said, "What?"

"Who were you talking to?" Pearl tilted her head as she spoke.

Steven from the left to the right. "Huh? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yup." Amethyst agreed, "Just out for a ride in the sand, like ya do."

"That girl." Garnet said slowly, and she said nothing more.

Steven went wide-eyed, and then he felt like crying again. That sparked the mothering side of Pearl, and she quickly made her way over to him, all the while pulling a couple tissues from her gem. She used the first to wipe the sand off of Steven's face and dust off his body, and she used the second to wipe away the tears that were forming.

Steven knew Garnet still expected an answer, tears or not. "She's just a girl I know, except she… doesn't know me."

Spinel took the lead from there and stepped forward, pushing Pearl to the side and grabbing Steven by the shoulders. "Go talk to her! Make friends!"

"I will!" Steven cried indignantly, "Just. Not now."

Amethyst finished her soda and ate the can. With another burp, she strolled to the fridge and pulled out an entire half of a watermelon, taking a big bite out of the green part. "We get it!" She sprayed juice everywhere as she spoke. "You like her."

"I like everyone." Steven said quickly, "I… just like her a little more…"

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Pearl exclaimed, clamping her hands together,"Let's set up a play date! I'll write up an invitation and work on a schedule! Ohh! We have to find out her favorite kind of tea."

Amethyst quickly dismissed that. "Pfft! Get real, Pearl. Just play it casual! Ya know, get in close, make ya move, and ask what she's doing tomorrow night! But not tonight; that'll make ya seem desperate."

"That's way too casual!" Spine protested, "She's gonna think he just wants to be friends!" Turning back to Steven, she said, "You have to make it clear right from the start just what you're interested in: her!"

"You're both wrong!" Pearl insisted, "The schedule will give the perfect opportunity to show her just how organized he is!"

"No." This time it was Garnet's turn. Spinel stepped to the side to let Garnet through, and Garnet rested a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Just talk to her."

Steven nodded slowly. Somehow, with the advice coming from Garnet, it seemed far more sensible than anything he could have ever thought of himself.

"Okay. You can't watch, though! You'll mess up my funky flow!"

"Wasn't planning on it, little man!"

"Funky flow is very important."

"Funky flow?"

"We won't watch."

"Thanks guys!"

That was all Steven needed to hear before he took off running. All ill feelings forgotten, tears dried, and stomach in knots. Down the beach, into the shade where the girl still sat, blissfully ignorant. Steven twisted the bracelet around his wrist, heated from the warmth of his body, and swallowed the nerves that threatened to drown him.

"Hi." Steven gave a nervous wave, and the girl finally looked up from her book "I'm Steven."

"Oh." Was all she said, "You fell down earlier."

Steven tried to look anywhere except at her. "Uh, yeah."

She closed her book. "You ran off before I could ask if you were okay."

"Oh yeah. I'm fine, just… was a little embarrassed."

The mystery girl stood up, extending a hand toward Steven. "I'm Connie."

Connie. The perfect name for the perfect girl.

Steven accepted the handshake. "It's nice to meet you Connie. Are… you new in town?"

"Yeah." Connie said, "I just recently transferred schools. I live in the town over, but my mom says the school here is better."

"I wouldn't know." Steven remarked offhandedly, but then seeing the confused expression on his new friends face, he added, "I'm homeschooled; have been all my life. I live just up there." Steven pointed to the beach house and was glad to find the window empty.

"Oh!" Connie exclaimed, "I've always wanted to live in a beach house!"

"It's really fun! You can go swimming basically any time, and at night you can listen to the waves. Oh! And every couple years there's a bunch of baby turtles and they're so cute! You should come by some time for dinner…"

Connie blinked. "I think I'd like that. I'd have to ask my parents first, they're a little strict, and they'll probably want to meet your parents first."

Connie's words faded into a startled shout as the earth gave another shake.

"That's the fourth one in an hour." Connie said, "What do you think is going on? It can't be earthquakes."

Steven shook his head. "Pearl doesn't think so either. It's probably a gem thing."

"Gem thing…?"

Steven froze, and then blushed. "Er. It's nothing."

The earth shook again, much more violently than before, and this time Steven struggled to stay on his feet. He just barely managed it and thought he was in the clear until the earth gave another violent shutter and he found it impossible not to fall along with it. Balance was lost, and he fell down right beside Connie, who had taken to clutching to her book for whatever minor comfort it offered. Instead of looking down at the sand, or down at Connie, Steven was now staring straight up at the rocky outcrop above them, and one of the rocks was teetering near the edge until yet another violent shaking sent it tumbling from its peak.

Steven had no time to react beyond closing his eyes and raising his hands against the imposing impact. Any moment now Garnet would jump out from nowhere and crack that bolder down the middle, or Pearl would throw her spear at it with the same effect. Spinel would grab both Steven and Connie and pull them to safety, even if it risked a freak out from the latter, and maybe even Amethyst would do her spin dash and tackle them out of harm's way before either of them even realized it. But then he remembered.

They weren't watching.

Steven opened his eyes when the impact never came, and found his entire world clouded in pink. The ocean was pink, the sky was pink, the sand was pink. He was pink, and so was Connie, but her change in hue was far more subtle and Steven could only see it in the white of her eyes. It took Steven to realize the world wasn't pink, but something around them was. Like a bubble; transparent, slightly tinted, obscuring everything around it, and they were trapped inside, but it wasn't popping. Steven pressed his hand to the side, and felt a familiar warmth and power to it, creeping up his arm and spreading throughout his body, focusing itself in his gem. All around them, pieces of fallen rock shattered in the sand.

Connie's awe turned to horror, and she opened her mouth to scream, but Steven was much quicker.

"Don't freak out!"

Connie slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself, and it seemed to work, but the fear was still there, strong and true on her features. When Connie finally removed her hands from her mouth it was to ask a question.

"Did you? How did you?"

"I'm magic!" Steven said; he saw no reason in lying anymore, "Well, at least, I'm half magic! On my mother's side!"

Steven lifted his star-plastered shirt to show his belly and his gem, right in the center where a normal belly button would be.

"I'm a member of the Crystal Gems." Steven went on, "We fight monsters and protect humanity and stuff."

Steven held out his hands to help Connie to her feet.

"Oh, that's kinda like my dad." Connie said, accepting Steven's hand. Once she was on her feet, she said, "He's a cop."

They stared at each other wordlessly for a moment.

"So. How long does this usually last?"

Steven strugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I've never done this before."

"Oh. Well, how do we get rid of it then?"

Steven replied to this with yet another shrug. "The gems usually help me with magic stuff."

"Oh. Well then how are we gonna fix this?"

Steven disregarded Connie's concern, "that's easy; we can go up and ask the gems for help!"

"That's all well and good, but…" Connie hesitated, "How do you expect us to get a perfectly round bubble up those stairs?"

Steven hadn't thought of that. When he didn't immediately respond, the fear on Connie's face only grew, to the point where Steven blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's fine! I have other friends that can help, and we don't have to go up any stairs haha."

"Great! Where are they?"

Steven motioned to the big donut, and Connie nodded in understanding. As one, they began to roll the bubble across the sand toward the wood of the boardwalk. Huh. So this is what it feels like to be a hamster.

It took Sadie a while to notice them, but she did, she absolutely freaked out. She and Lars both left their stations (thankfully there were no customers outside) and ran to the trapped children to help. It seemed that they had different ideas of what 'helping' meant, though.

"What do I do?" Sadie cried, "I'm not magic or whatever! Do you have oxygen in there?"

"Uh yeah, I think so." Steven called; he barely heard the words Sadie spoke through the bubbles muffle, and so he made sure to speak extra loud.

Lars couldn't stop laughing at the predicament Steven was in, and when it finally looked like he had laughed himself into exhaustion, he'd look up and laugh some more. Eventually, his laughs had faded into silent wheezing, and he still couldn't stop. He was turning red in the face by that moment.

"Go get the gems!" Steven called.

Sadie nodded. "Okay okay. Lars!" Lars barely acknowledged them, "Watch them!"

Steven had never seen Sadie run so fast; it was impressive she could do that with such short, stubby legs. Lars began tapping on the bubble, and the sound reverberated all around them.

"You're stuck in a bubble!" Lars laughed out, "How does that even happen?"

"I don't know!" Steven called back.

A crash caused all three of them to search around, and when Steven saw a cloud of dust racing across the beach, he knew exactly what was happening.

Amethyst was there first, far ahead of the others with her speed dash. She circled the bubble twice, leaving skid marks around them and causing Lars to stumble backwards into nearby bushes. Amethyst finally came to a stop and rested a hand on the bubble. Spinel was the next to meet them, and Steven jumped as a loud thud echoed around them as Spinel leapt onto the bubble, wrapping her arms around the pink sphere and pressing her face against the solid surface. Tears streamed down her face, and this time it wasn;t just her maskara marks that made it look like that. There were real, genuine tears.

"Steven!" Spinel's voice was distressed, "Can you breath?"

"Yeah. I just can't get out."

Spinel's tears began to stream down the sides and puddle at the bottom. Pearl and Garnet had appeared somewhere in between Spinel's outburst

"Not to worry!" Pearl said clearly, "Just one moment and I'll have you out of there!"

Pearl summoned her spear, just as slender and pale as she, and fire it dead center at the bubble. Instead of shattering it, like Steven was sure the gem had intended, the spear itself shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Well that didn't work."

Sadie had finally arrived, minutes after the gems, and crippled over in the bushes beside Lars.

Amethyst suddenly gave a primal screech and once again did her signature move, flying around the bubble and slamming into it in multiple places with no luck. After striking it nearly a dozen times, she gave up and unfurled into a heap, nearly as exhausted as Sadie had been.

"Ugh! This bubble is hard!"

Spinel's sobbing wasn't making things any easier. If Steven hadn't known any better, and if there had been clouds in the sky, he would have assumed that it was raining.

"If she keeps crying like this, we'll have to start building an arc." Connie remarked offhandedly.

To Steven, it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

Garnet summoned her gauntlets, slamming them against each other twice before striking the bubble repeatedly, one after the other in the same spot. All that did was give Steven a headache as the bubble vibrated with each strike. Another primal screech later, and Amethyst had run full speed into the bubble, slamming into it like a bird onto slid down the side, leaving wet marks of drool in her wake.

"I don't think this is working." Steven called.

"I just don't understand…" Pearl muttered, and then turned her back on them, "Rose could summon and dispel her bubble at will. Why can't Steven?"

Garnet sent her gauntlets back into her gems. "Because Steven's not Rose."

"Yeah." Amethyst agreed, "But he does have her gem."

Amethyst became a construction drill and began to drill into the side of the bubble. Spinel only sobbed louder.

Connie said something that Steven couldn't quite hear over the mechanical whorls, and Steven called back to her, "What?"

"Who's Rose?"

"Oh! She's my mom! She gave up her form so I could exist!"

"Wow that's cool!"

"Urgh, forget this!" Amethyst abandoned her efforts, "Lemme me just get a running start, then I bet I can pop it!"

Amethyst shot off to the other side of the could barely hear through the ringing in his ears.

"Well er." He said to Connie, "Welcome to Beach City."

Connie shook her head. "My mom's gonna flip."

In the near distance, Amethyst had judged herself to be far enough and began to dash at them with all her might.

"I don't think this is gonna work." Connie remarked.

"Better than being trapped in a bubble forever and starving to death."

"Yeah I guess." Connie paused. "Is she going a little too fast for you?"

"Yeah, we uh. We should probably move!"

Amethyst was nearly upon them now, and gaining speed by the second. Connie and Steven retreated to opposite sides of the bubble, out of Amethyst's path.

"Amethyst, WAIT!"

Garnet's warning wasn't fast enough, and before the amethyst gem could stop, she slammed into the bubble. Harder than ever before. Hard enough to send them flying, soaring soundlessly over the beach, but even then it wasn't enough to break the bubble. At first, it was peaceful. Then they began to fall.

Steven felt as if he'd left a piece of himself in the sky as gravity took affect, and the terrain beneath him began to grow steadily larger.

Please land in the water, please land in the water, please land in the water.

His pleaded seemed to work, and the bubble crashed down into the waves and sank below the ocean's surface, right to the bottom of the drop off. A few fish scattered from their presence, and a cloud of murky dust kicked up as they landed on the bottom.

"You okay?" Steven asked.

Connie didn't respond. Steven looked her over from the distance he was at, and saw no signs of injury. She had curled up on the ground, her knees to her chest and her arms around her knees.

"It could be worse." Steven offered, "We could be drowning right now."

This only made matters worse, and instead of agreeing with Steven, Connie burst into tears. Steven leaned down to her, putting a hand to her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. It's all okay…"

"NO IT'S NOT!" She shoved him off of her, "IT'S NOT, STEVEN! We're gonna freeze to death or starve or suffocate at the bottom of the ocean, trapped in a stupid pink bubble, and my parents are never going to know what happened to me and I'm gonna dissapear without making a single friend."

Connie's voice cracked at the last word, and though the rant began dripping with malice and hate, all of that disappeared part way through. Steven didn't know what to do. Usually, when someone had a breakdown, it was him, and the gems would always be there to comfort him. He had to be there to comfort Connie, but he didn't know how. He couldn't just reach into his gem and pull out a tissue, or a soda, or a blanket. He couldn't reach into his gem at all. So instead, he sat down beside her and pulled the band from off his wrist, holding it out to her.

"Here."

"Huh?" Was all Connie could say.

"You're bracelet." Steven explained, "You dropped it last month, during the parade. I picked it up, and I was gonna to give it back to you, but then you disappeared. I put it in the freezer so it would last longer."

Though the tears still streamed her face, nearly invisible in the mix of purple light surrounding them, Connie reached out for the bracelet and slipped it onto her wrist, easily sliding it over her slender hand. Every other breath was strained with a sob, but she managed to wipe away the tears and to give even the smallest hint of a smile, and maybe even a blush.

"Steven…"

The moment was interrupted by a sharp tapping on the bubble, and looking to the source of the noise revealed Garnet. She gave a smile, and a thumbs up, and Steven gave one back.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Connie asked in concern.

"It's fine!" Steven insisted, "Gem's don't need to breath!"

"Oh."

It was honestly strange how well Connie was taking it; Steven was expecting a freak out to come any second, but it didn't. Garnet was feeling her way around the bubble, as if trying to get a good grip on it. She was so focused on her exploration she didn't notice the figure appearing behind her from a lump of coral.

Brown, so it seemed, but with a clear coating around its outside that gave it the look of being trapped in gelatin. Spotted in a white and purple clear even through the tint of the bubble, and even clearer still a mouth full of sharp, bladed teeth.

Steven went to call out to Garnet, but it seemed something had already alerted her to the wyrms presence. When the creature finished its accent into the water and began to charge at her, Garnet turned around just in time to catch the creature by the very jaws it threatened to shatter her with. She threw it backwards, and the monster ricochet through the water, swimming into the shelter offered by a nearby crevice.

"What was that thing?!"

"They're called gem corruptions!" Steven explained.

Garnet focused on the two once more, and the best possible way to get their bubble from the water to the land. Now acutely aware she was being stalked, she kept looking over her back to make sure the creature wasn't advancing once more. The coast seemed to be clear, at least from behind. Then the creature came not from the back, but from the side, and this time even Garnet wasn't quick enough to react. The powerful gem was sent through the water to a deeper part of the drop off, landing as smooth as if she were in zero gravity, and recovering just as easily as the creature continued its assault. She summoned her gauntlets at once, and charged the creature with clear intent. Before Steven could see how it turned out, however, Connie suddenly blocked the view.

"Steven! There's a path over there, help me push toward shore!"

Steven nodded and followed Connie's lead.

"Connie, I just want you to know-"

The fight came dangerously close to them, and they barely had time to stop as the two fighters rolled out in front of them. The moment Garnet and Wyrm were no longer in the way, Connie continued to push and Steven leaped to help her.

"I mean, if we get eaten by a giant worm, at least we'll get eaten together!"

"Not helping, Steven!"

The wyrm slammed into them and sent them flying away from their path, all the way back down into the drop off, even further than they were before.

"You know, you don't have to worry about dying friendless!"

Connie opened her mouth to argue, but Steven spoke before she could.

"I can be your friend, so all you have to worry about now is uh. Dying. In general I mean."

For some reason, Connie found this funny, and she started to laugh. And when Connie started to laugh, so did Steven. Suddenly the whole situation just seemed so funny.

"That's not very comforting, Steven."

Steven gave two final chuckles and then was quiet. Neither moved to continue pushing the bubble. Neither of them moved to try and catch sight of the fight happening just over the ridge. Neither of them moved from staring at each other. That is, until there was a faint pop and water rushed in on top of them. Even after they, for a moment, they were still in their shock, until sense came into play and they kicked off the bottom and began to struggle their way to the top.

Connie got there first, and Steven soon after. He paused half-way up, catching a sight of Garnet struggling below, but the call of air was far too important, and he carried up to open sky. His lungs had never before been so grateful.

Even from the distance they were at, Pearl's scream was undeniable, but the words she screamed were lost. Steven made sure to stay close to Connie, should either of them lose resolve and fall back under. The next moment, after Pearl's scream had sounded, something tugged on the back of Steven's shirt. He struggled away from it out of pure instinct but, upon noticing it was dug in deep, he twisted his head around to hopefully catch a glimpse of whatever snagged him.

It was a fishing hook. At least, it looked like one, except it was pink. He immediately knew what was happening, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Connie's shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see."

Steven gave a tug on the line, and it immediately came to life and started to pull them to shore. Steven glanced under the waves as they passed over where Garnet should have been fighting, but he saw no sign of her, and his stomach began to twist in knots. Garnet was strong. Garnet would be okay. But she had been under there for a very long time.

The first person there to meet them was Pearl, and Steven was shocked to see the usual-squeamish Crystal Gem wadding into the murky water to retrieve them. The moment she had her arms around them both, Spinel removed her hook and her hand-turned-fishing rod turned back to normal. She was the next to greet them, running into the water and throwing her arms around Steven, though she barely acknowledged Connie there.

"Spinel, please." Pearl said, and Spinel glumly released Steven from her hug as Pearl carried them toward shore.

Amethyst greeted the both of them with towels when they were finally back on dry land. "You were almost sleeping with the fishes!" she taunted.

"Where's Garnet?" Spinel asked.

"Um." Steven looked to the water.

"There was. A worm." Connie said, "A really big worm. I think she's fighting it?"

Pearl gave a sigh, sounding more disappointed them anything, and summoned her spear. "Amethyst, come with me. Spinel, stay with the children."

"Ay ay, captain!" Spinel saluted.

Amethyst was the first in the water, and she did so with a running start and a cannonball. Pearl was much more elegant in her decent as she dove cleanly beneath the water without making a single splash.

"So." Spinel said slowly, "Are you gonna introduce me?"

Steven looked to Connie. She had started to dry her hair with the towel, and now it was sticking up in wild strands and unkempt tangles. Steven decided then and there to let his hair air-dry.

"Connie, this is Spinel." He said to Connie, "Spinel, this is Connie," He said to Spinel.

Connie held out her hands, and Spinel was eager to shake it; so eager she shook Connie's entire body too.

Once Connie had regained her bearings, she said, "That was some trick you did with your arm."

Connie sounded very uncomfortable, but also too polite to verbally freak out about one of the people who had just saved her. Spinel gave a devilish grin.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet."

There was a piercing screech from the water as the wyrm was flung from it so hard it flew all the way to the beach and slammed one of the arms of the temple. On the moment of impact, there was a minor explosion, and when the brown cloud disappeared, all that was left was a shining, orange gem that began to fall fast toward the beach. Amethyst was there in a heartbeat to catch it. Amethyst encased the gem in a purple bubble and send it into the oblivion as Garnet and Pearl walked out from the ocean.

Garnet flexed every muscle in her body, the water shot of her in, and in an instant she was as dry as if she was never wet in the first place. Pearl did the same, except a little more elegantly, and then the two of them walked over to Amethyst, casually ignoring the one-and-a-half humans that had just witnessed the impossible.

Steven looked to Connie, worried about how she might react, but what he found was the last thing he would have expected. Starry eyes, her mouth parted in awe and quickly changing into one of the widest grins Steven had ever seen. Then she was on her feet.

"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" She ran up to Pearl and gawked at the soldier; Pearl didn't seem to know how to react, "I've never seeen anything so amazing!"

Pearl blushed a pale blue color; Steven had never seen her so flustered. She gave a polite laugh and covered her mouth with one hand while waving the other. "Well, it's always nice to see a human taking an intrest in gem matters." She crouched down to get a better look at Connie, "Steven was so excited to meet you."

"I should know!" Amethyst called, "I was his bike!"

Spinel nodded along, "And I watched from the window!"

"By the way, what is your favorite type of tea?"

"Hey."

The three older gems froze at Garnet's stern voice. At once, she wrapped her arms around all three of them, squishing Spinel into the middle.

"Don't mess with his funky flow."

Then she walked away, not even bothering to take the stairs; instead, she cleared all of them in a single bound and disappeared out of sight.


	4. Birthday spire adventure

Big thanks to SpikedTankmaster300 for their help with this chapter!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN!"

Steven beamed at the cheer. He had waited so long for this, and half the town showed up! Even if half the town was only seven people, it was still exciting. Vidalia had come (though Steven suspected she only came to see Amethyst) and brought along Sourcream and Onion, and Peedee had been forced to go, though any time Spinel passed by him he'd retreat to the opposite side of the room to avoid her. The only ones that seemed to show up to actually see him were Sadie, his dad, and Connie, who all greeted the birthday boy with hugs, and the former with a free box of donuts (though those were quickly claimed by Amethyst, much to Pearl's dismay).

After that display, Garnet had reminded the gems for the fourth time that day to not do anything humans wouldn't, or couldn't, do. For her and Pearl, the task came easy, but for Spinel and Amethyst it wasn't so simple. When it came to Steven, he just acted like himself; he already was human, so there wasn't much to change.

Pearl was walking around with a tray full of tea and biscuits, offering some to anyone who would give her the time of day. She offered a cup and a biscuit to Vidalia, who was sitting on the couch beside Amethyst, with Onion resting peacefully in her lap, just staring as he often did. Vidalia politely declined.

"I'm not much of a tea drinker as I am a drinker in general." Was her excuse.

Onion, however, was more than happy to accept it, even if he couldn't verbally say so. He made the strange noises that Steven could only associate with him being happy, and reached his stubby hands to the sky as he tried to grab the tray. Pearl made sure to give him both a plastic cup and a plastic plate, so he wouldn't break them. The moment Onion got them, it looked as if he were about to take a bite of the biscuit, until had a different idea. He held the cup away from his body, looked Pearl directly in the eye, and poured the tea directly onto the floor.

"Onion!"

Ignoring his mother's shout, Onion proceeded to crumble the biscuit as well, rubbing his hands together afterward to rid of all the crumbs. Amethyst burst into laughter, while Vidalia flushed a shade of bright red and stood up quickly, holding her son to her chest and quickly making toward the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, "I'll clean it up."

Pearl, though flustered, quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no, don't worry yourself!"

Pearl was quicker to find the paper towels than Vidalia, and even quickly to find the broom and dustpan and return to the spot on the rug.

"Steven used to make this kind of messes all the time!"

That seemed to reassure Vidalia. "Well, if you're quite sure..." she sat back down with Amethyst, holding Onion firmly on her knees, despite his angry protests.

Once Pearl made her first trip to the trash can, Steven followed closely after her.

"Did I really make messes all the time?" He asked sincerely.

"Of course not." Pearl shook her head, "I just didn't want to embarrass Vidalia. By the way, that small human is banned from the house after today."

Steven shrugged. "That's fair enough."

Then Steven suddenly felt taller, and out of balance. It didn't take him long to realize what was going on, and when he did, shock turned to amusement as Amethyst hoisted him the rest of the way onto her shoulders. Even at this height, they barely came up to Garnet's shoulders.

"Steven!" She cheered, "What does the birthday boy think of being a teen?"

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded, "Put him down."

"Okay."

Amethyst took Pearl's words literally, and dropped Steven all at once without hesitation. Before he could fall to the ground, he fell instead into strong, calloused hands; at first, he thought of Garnet, but then thought of someone totally different.

"Careful there, Stew-ball." Greg held his son with ease, as if he were no heavier than a toothpick, "Don't wanna go to the hospital on your birthday, do you?"

"Steven!" Pearl ran to Steven and snatched him from Greg's arms, "Amethyst, that was way out of line! You could have hurt him!"

"But I didn't!" Amethyst said, "Besides, the fall wasn't so big. He's not gonna get hurt from a four-foot drop."

"He could have got concussed!"

"Uh." Greg sounded unsure, "Can I have my son back now?"

"I dunno, Greg." Amethyst said skeptically, "You look kinda dirty."

Despite the obvious joke, Greg looked genuinely hurt. His shirt was kind of dirty, but far cleaner when compared to what he normally wore.

"I'm just kiddin'!" Amethyst said with a wild, shrill kind of laughter.

"Oh, heh heh..." Greg's laugh was anything but joyous.

"Amethyst!" Steven scolded, "That was mean."

"Geeze, I was just joking."

"It's fine." Greg waved his hand dismissively, "I just wanted to-"

He was once again interrupted, this time by the ding of the timer set on the oven.

"Oh!" Pearl exclaimed, turning her back on the gems and greg, "Cookies are done!"

As Pearl put on oven mitts (she didn't really need them, but knew humans did), Amethyst was right at her side.

"Oooo, snacking time!"

When Pearl pulled the cookies out, she was already prepared to slap Amethyst's hand when she reached for them.

"No!" Pearl scolded loudly, then added more quietly, "We have to behave like humans in front of Steven's friends."

"Come on, Pearl!" Amethyst begged, "No one is even paying attention to him, or to us!"

Steven looked, and it was true; Vidalia was still trying to reign in her son, while Peedee and Connie sat together nearby, with the latter trying to calm the former from another panic attack. Sadie had taken to talking awkwardly to Garnet, who had made it her duty to chat with every single person that showed up, no matter how uncomfortable it made both of them. The only one that seemed to be enjoying himself was Sourcream, who had taken to listening to music on his phone the moment he realized there was none at the party.

"That doesn't matter!" Pearl insisted in her hushed tone, "You remember what Garnet said."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, P." Amethyst said, and she glumly resigned herself to waiting.

"So." Greg said, "What have you been up to?" Greg asked.

"Just waiting to go on a mission." Steven was still looking around when he answered; searching for a particular gem.

"That's nice." Greg said, "Hey, didn't say last year that-"

Spinel was nowhere to be seen; until she was. For the third time that day, Greg was cut off by one of the Crystal Gems. Steven felt himself being lifted into the air with hands that definitely didn't belong to Amethyst; soft, cushioned, and clown like. Spinel flung Steven around like a ragdoll; there was no malice in the game, but it disoriented Steven none-the-less.

"I guess I'll just wait my turn…" Greg muttered as Spinel danced away with Steven.

"Ohhh! He's the birthday boy, he's the birthday boy, he's the birthday boooooooy!"

Spinel finally stopped after the final birthday boy, and let Steven down. Though his eyes still danced with the motion, and his stomach still full of breakfast churned with the sudden motion, it was nothing like the night before exactly at midnight. Steven shuddered at the terrifying memory of being tossed out of been and spun around the room until he nearly puked.

Then there was the ringing that Steven had been waiting all day for; an alarm he set specifically the night before, and the mere sound of it made his heart flutter.

"Uh Steven." Amethyst said, suddenly appearing at his side, "Why's your clock ringing?"

Steven threw his hands up in the air. "Mail time!" and ran out the door without a second thought. The squeaking of rubber behind him told him Spinel was hot on his trail.

"Oh , bring us a post!" At first it was just Steven, but Spinel joined in for the second verse, "Bring us the post that we love the most!"

Jamie was always very punctual. Always five PM on the dot; Steven suspected he waited for the exact time to come around the corner to make a dramatic entrance.

"Jamie!"

"Postman!"

Steven ran to hug the postman, and Jamie returned the affection with a pet on the head.

"Do you have a package for us?" Steven begged; he really hoped it would come today.

"Hmm... let me see…" Jamie took a step back and shifted through his bag, "Hmmm… you didn't order a loaf of bread did you?"

Steven laughed and shook his head, "No."

"Hmmm." Jamie feigned deep thought, "I wonder… could it be this?"

Jamie pulled out a small envelope, and definitely not the things Steven had ordered. Steven shook his head.

"No, it should have my name it on: Steven! Steven Universe!"

"Oh!" Jamie's oh was far more dramatic than it needed to be, "I thought it was Barbara Miller!"

Steven laughed, "No, I'm not Sadie' mom!"

Jamie smirked and put the letter back in his bag, "Coulda fooled me!"

"Doesn't she work at the post office?" Spinel asked.

Jamie looked at her, and said nothing more. He reached into his bag, and produced two identical packages. "Oh! This must be it, huh? Steven Universe, spelled with an M?"

Steven only laughed even harder as he took the packages, "No, it's spelled with an S!"

"Is it?" Jamie pretended to be shocked, and looked over the packages, "By God it is! I've been spelling it wrong all this time!"

Jamie never failed to make Steven's day a whole lot better. "Thank you, generous mail god!" He said, just as dramatic, "The gift thou giveth onto me shall save the earth from mortal destruction!"

"Really?" Jamie broke character for a split second before correcting himself, "Dost thou knoweth how thou can save mine world?"

"How?"

"Sign here please." Jamie held out a clipboard, "I get in trouble if I don't get signatures."

Steven signed.

"Thank you, kind servant of fate! Now I bid thee adieu, for many-a peasant folk require my services. Au revoir my most loyal attendee!"

"Bye Jamie!"

"Steven!" Steven looked up at Pearl, who was poking her head out through the door, "It's time for cake!"

"Cake!" Spinel was the first one up the steps.

"Cake!" Steven echoed and, grabbing his packages, raced up the stairs after her.

Everyone was already gathering around the cake waiting for him. It seemed Peedee had calmed down for the moment, but Onion was just as wild, trying to reach into the frosting as his mother fought to hold him back. Garnet was the one lighting the candles, though Amethyst sat nearby pouting; Steven guessed Garnet hadn't let her anywhere near the fire, much to Amethyst's dismay.

They went through the phases of singing, cheering, and recording before Steven blew out the candle and made his wish; truly, he didn't wish for anything, because what more could he want? When that was all said and done, it was Greg who offered to cut the cake, though it didn't go as well as he had hoped.

"Oh uh." Greg pushed down harder on the immovable knife, embedded deep in the cake; he hadn;t even managed to get all the way through before it stopped moving altogether, "It's a little more frozen than I anticipated."

"Here Greg, allow me." Garnet pushed Greg to the side and pulled the knife out almost immediately, then went back to the cutting. She sliced through the cake like it was butter, or maybe something even softer, and the cuts she made were so perfect and precise it was hard to believe it wasn't a commercial for ice cream cake.

As chuckles sounded around the table, and Greg flushed a bright red, Pearl passed out cake, cookies, and ice cream to everyone, though she was a little hesitant to give one to Onion. When she finally did, the toddler looked down at the plate for only a moment before dumping it right onto the rug as he had done with the tea. Steven left Pearl to deal with that while he went to join Connie and Spinel on the couch; he invited Peedee over, but the blonde boy simply shook his head no and quivered.

After cake, they celebrated the rest of the party for what felt like hours. Some time during it, Sourcream had started playing music for the entire house through his phone, using a stereo that Amethyst had somehow found amongst her junk. Even with the music playing, Steven, Connie, Spinel, and sometimes Sadie were the only who danced to it. When the clock struck seven, it was time for Steven to open his gifts.

Since the gems had told him he wouldn't get his gift until later, and he already knew what he got from his dad, he opened Connie's gift first. It was nothing big, a book on geology that he'd probably never read, but he loved it all the same. Sadie got him a little stuffed elephant that he would gladly add to his collection, Onion gave him a squeaky dog toy in the shape of a bone, Sourcream got him a new pair of headphones, Vidalia gave him a potted plant, and Peedee gave him a ten dollar gift card for some obscure shop Steven had never heard of.

"Didn't you get him a gift Greg?" Amethyst asked.

"Uh yeah." Greg pointed to the two remaining packages; the ones Steven had gotten in the mail, "Those, I guess."

"He let me buy anything I wanted online!" Steven explained, "He let me order it early so it would be here on my birthday."

"Well go on and open them!" Pearl prompted, and cheers from the small crowd agreed.

Garnet retrieved the packages and gave them to Steven. With the eyes of eager friends surrounding him, Steven opened the packaging with a little difficulty and pulled out his first prize. It was exactly how it had been online, albeit a little more wrinkled than he expected, but that's only because it was flattened to fit in the package. He was sure it would puff back out in time.

"What is it?" Pearl asked.

"Yo Steven!" Said Amethyst, "Is that a giant cheeseburger?"

"It is!" Steven announced, proudly showing off his backpack, "A cheeseburger backpack!"

"Looks yummy!" Spinel licked her lips.

Steven laughed. "It's not for eating, silly!" He put it on his back, "It's for wearing!"

Spinel's eyes went wide and she gave a little bounce, "Oo! Oo! What about that one?" She pointed to the second package.

"Yeah, Steven, open it!" Said Connie.

"Yeah, Stewball! Let's see it!"

"Open that thang up!"

"Okay, okay!" Steven lifted the second package but, instead of opening it himself, he gave it to Spinel.

"Huh?" Spinel looked from the package to Steven, "For me?"

Steven grinned, "I know that gem's don't exactly have birthdays, so I thought I'd share mine! Happy birthday Spinel."

A cacophony of aww's echoed around the house, and Spinel looked as if she was going to cry. No, she was crying. Tears swam in her eyes and her mouth wavered between a smile and a frown. For a moment, her pupils seemed to be little hearts, but then they were back to normal and she threw her arms around Steven, and the noise she made sounded like someone had accidentally stepped on Onion's gifted dog toy. Though the corners of the package dug hard into his sides, he barely noticed.

"Aren't you gonna open it?"

Spinel pulled away from the hug and nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. She plopped down on the floor and ripped open the package, pulling out the gift hidden within its cardboard walls.

A pink heart, much like the one on Spinel's chest, except lighter and without a crack. She flipped it rightside up, and gaze in astonishment at the small treasure. It wasn't as big as the cheeseburger, nor as colorful and detailed, but it still had a simplistic beauty about it. Near its top, where the two curves went down to meet at a point, was a small, fake crystal that shone with all the beauty of a real one.

"Aww, Steven." Spinel cradled the backpack as if it were a baby.

"You can store stuff in it, or just wear it to look cool." Steven explained.

"As nice as this is," Garnet said slowly, then turning to the rest of the guests, "I'm afraid I have to shut it down."

"Awww." Steven pouted.

"Steven, Garnet's right." Pearl agreed, "We have to go to… work."

Steven immediately understood. "Oh, okay."

"But before we do," Garnet added, "We have a little surprise for you."

Steven perked up at that. "A surprise?" The matching look shared by each Crystal Gem told him they all had a part in it.

Pearl was practically glowing as she spoke. "Do you remember that song you used to sing when you were little? Back when you still lived with Greg?"

Steven nodded. The words were there, forever locked into his head. A memory he couldn't forget even if he wanted to, and he didn't. Spinel left his side, the heart backpack over her shoulders, and she went to join Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl near the warp.

"Sing it for us." Garnet asked, though it wasn't really much of a question.

Steven took a deep breath, and the words, as well as the tune came immediately back to him, rolling off his tongue just as easy as they had back then.

"_If you're evil and you're on the rise, you can count on the five of us taking you down._"

Even now, the tune still echoed haunting through the house just like always. A song. One he and the gems always seemed to hear, but not anyone else. As if the music was actually planning, but music only they could hear.

"_Cause we're good and evil never beats us! We'll win the fight and then go out for pizza!_"

He could feel light centering in his gem, as if the life inside was listening and humming along.

"_We are the Crystal Gems, and we'll always save the day_!"

The gems started clapping along.

"_And if you think we can't, we'll always find a way."_

Nothing but pride on the faces of those he loved most.

"_That's why the people of this world believe in Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Spinel and STEVEN!_"

He expected the tune to stop as it always did, but it didn't. Instead, it faded into something new, something different. Steven looked around at the crowd, and it was all to obvious they were still oblivious to the change. They were always oblivious.

"_I will fight for the place where I'm free to live together and exist as me!_" Garnet's tone fit the tune perfectly, as if it were all planned out, and maybe it was.

"_I will fight for the world I was made in. The earth is everything I've ever known!_" that was Amethyst, and again the tone shifted to fit her voice.

"_I will fight in the name of Rose Quartz, and everything that she believed in!_" Pearl's song was more gentle and serene than the two that came before her.

"_I will fight for the right to have fun; this planet is the planet that I call home!_" Spinel's voice was by far the happiest and most high pitched.

"_The odds are against us, it won't be easy_," Their voices came together in a perfect symphony, "But we're not gonna do it alone."

Somehow, Steven knew what came next, and when it was time, he joined in.

"_We_!" Garnet and Spinel.

"_Are the Crystal._" Pearl and Amethyst.

"_Gems_!" Only Steven.

"_We'll always save the day!_" Now it was all five.

"_And if you think we can't_!" Only Steven.

"_We'll always find a way!_" All five again. "_That's why the people of this world believe in."_

"_Garnet!_" Garnet; like fire and ice.

"_Amethyst!_" Wild and free.

"_Pearl…_" Gentle like a summer breeze.

"_Spinel_!" Like bubbles and laughter.

"_And Steven_!" Himself. Just… himself.

There were cheers all around; even Onion got in on it in his own way, though he couldn't speak. Enthusiasm and that rush of pure light turned to pure embarrassment, but it wasn't exactly a bad feeling.

"That was amazing!"

"I didn't know y'all could sing!"

"Bravo!"

"I gotta take some singing lessons from you!"

"That was awesome!"

Pearl brushed off the praise with little regard, "Okay, now it's time for you all to clear out! Move along."

Garnet was quick to correct Pearl's brash behavior. "What Pearl here means to say is that we really must get ready for work."

Everyone cleared out soon after that, with final farewells and last-minute hugs before they returned to their normal lives. Greg hesitated at the door, and once everyone was gone, besides of course the gems, he kneeled down beside Steven and ruffled his hair.

"How'd you enjoy your birthday, kiddo?"

"It was amazing!" Steven said, holding his arms in front of his chest and grinning widely.

Greg smiled at his son's enthusiasm. "That's good. Glad you enjoyed yourself! Say, you remember my old friend Sunshine Justice? Probably not, since you were so little."

Steven thought. "Isn't she the one that always smells like an old lady's house?"

Greg laughed. "Yeah, that's her!"

"Then yes."

"Well, she heard it was your birthday and everything, so-"

"Oh this is so exciting!"

Steven immediately looked to Pearl as she interrupted; she looked just as happy, if not more so, than Greg had been moments before.

"You're growing up so fast! Before we know it, you'll be as big as Rose!" Pearl squished Steven's cheeks as if he were still a toddler.

"Was she tall?" Steven asked; he'd only ever seen her in pictures, so he didn't know.

"Yeah!" Spinel agreed, "She was like, a hundred feet tall!"

Steven gave it some thought, and the image of a giant woman made his heart sweet. Pearl had the exact opposite reaction.

"Maybe not that tall." Pearl said.

"More like eight feet exactly." Garnet agreed.

"Yes, thank you Garnet."

"Wow… eight feet…" That was still giant, even if it wasn't quite as big as a hundred feet. Maybe he'd meet a hundred foot lady one day. He could only dream. "What were you gonna say, dad?"

Greg stared, seemingly dazed for a moment, before saying, "Nothing. I'm just… glad you had a good time."

Greg left without another word. Steven watched through the window as he left, dragging his feet across the sand until he eventually faded out of sight. Spinel joined him. For some reason, a wave of sadness washed over him as he watched his dad go.

"You think he's okay?" Spinel asked.

"Probably just tired from all the partying!" Steven said, but he wasn't quite sure who he was trying to convince.

"Speaking of partying…"

Steven turned to Garnet as she spoke.

"Would you like your gift now?"

Steven grinned widely, all ill-feelings forgot, and quickly nodded his head,

"Wait right there!"

Pearl walked over to the temple door, and as she got close to it, the white gem on the left side lit up, and the door opened into a serenic, nature area. It closed quickly behind her, before Steven could get a good look, but Pearl returned before too much curiosity could set in. In her hand, she held a small, stone statue.

Steven could almost believe the statue to be alive, with how the light danced off its surface and colors cascaded across its body, centuring in a pure white, crystalline gem held in two delicate, small hands. The statue was undoubtedly female, in a dress a slightly darker gray than its body, marked with pinks, purples, cyans, and greens. Her hair made up the bulk of her shape, waving and almost in motion, like the sea at night, reflecting moonlight on its surface. Her eyes were closed, and it was like she was sleeping. Peaceful, undisturbed.

All Steven could do was gasp. "A statue! I love it!"

Garnet laughed. "Not just any statue, Steven. This is the center of your first mission."

Fireworks went off in Steven's heart. Mission? His mission?

"Ohh, she's so pretty!" Spinel cooed.

"Eh, she's alright." Amethyst brushed off.

"Tonight, all five of us will be going to the Lunar Sea Spire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean." From her gem fired a projection of a tall, blue structure surrounded by water, "It's an ancient gem temple, and I can think of no place better for Steven's first mission." The projection zoomed into the top of the spire, where there stood an empty pedestal just the right shape and size to fit the small statue, "Our mission is to return the Moon Goddess Statue to the top of the spire before midnight and return the spire to its former glory!"

Steven nodded along, trying to act as if he understood what Pearl was saying. He held his hands out, not knowing what to expect. "Uh. Can… I?"

Pearl only nodded and carefully shifted the Moon Goddess into Steven's. "Just be very gentle, Steven. The Moon Goddess is very fragile, and she doesn't take well to being mishandled."

Steven looked down at the statue now in his hands. She felt warm, but that was probably just from Pearl holding her the same way. Steven's heart fluttered in his chest at the gleam in the statues gem, almost alive, like when his gem got that mysterious pink glow, except this one wasn't glowing. It took everything Steven had to pry his eyes off the beauty.

"We're all going?" He asked, "All five of us?"

"It's about time all five Crystal Gems went on a mission together." Garnet replied.

"Can I carry her in my cheeseburger?" Steven put on his best puppy eyes.

Pearl clearly intended to say no, but it was Amethyst who spoke next.

"Come on, P! It's the boy's birthday! Let him carry the dumb statue in his cheeseburger!"

Pearl gasped her offense. "It's not dumb. It's an ancient relic carved by some of the first gems! But… fine. As long as you are very careful-"

Steven interrupted her with a hug. "Thanks Pearl!" He made an immediate belign for his loft bedroom, "I gotta get more stuff too, I'll be just a second!"

Spinel was happy to join him, and Steven was more than happy for the extra space her backpack offered. He made sure to grab everything; a blanket, in case he got cold, a half-bag of chips, in case he got hungry, a bottle of water in case he got thirsty, and in case he got lonely.

"Steven!" Pearl called, "Come on!"

"Coming!" Steven had already finished anyway by the time Pearl had called him, anyway.

Spinel bounced right alongside him, and took her place beside Amethyst on the warp, and Pearl offered Steven a helping hand with getting into a warp-ready position. Amethyst looked over the both of them.

"Did you bring your whole room?"

"Yup!" Spinel and Steven said in sync.

"It's creepy how ya always do that."

Steven was already beginning to feel the weight the backpack had on his shoulders, but he refused to complain. He would see this through the end; he had to! It was his first mission.

"Are you ready to go, Steven?" Pearl asked.

"Yup!" Steven said quickly, but then another thought occurred to him and he added, "Does warping hurt?"

"Of course not, Steven." Pearl reassured, "Though you might feel some minor discomfort, since it's your first time."

"Are we even sure Steven can warp?" Amethyst asked, "I mean, he's, ya know, organic."

"We've already tested it." Garnet said surely.

"Yes." Pearl agreed, "And you would have known that if you paid attention."

"Bite me."

"I most certainly will not!" Pearl stuck up her nose, "I don't know where you've been!"

"Is that the only reason, sweetheart?" Amethyst winked and clicked her tongue.

"Amethyst!" Pearl sighed and resigned herself to keep on with the lecture. She pulled a little closer to her as she spoke, and farther away from the edge. "Just stay close to me and keep your body in the warp stream. The atmosphere outside the stream is unsustainable for human life; even gems can crack under those conditions. It is very cold, and there is very little oxygen. Understand?"

"Yes Pearl." Steven answered politely.

"And remember, Steven, this mission is purely educational; the same goes for you, Spinel." Spinel stuck her tongue out, but Pearl ignored her, "You haven't been on a mission since Steven's was born, and Steven hasn't been on a mission ever. So I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Spinel reached her head around Pearl, with was an easy feat seeing as she could stretch her neck just like the rest of her, "Don't worry Steven; it's just like riding a bike! Except, if you fall off, you die."

"Spinel!" Pearl cried.

"She's not wrong." Amethyst muttered.

Pearl crossed her arms. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Her arms came uncrossed, only to cross again over Steven's chest. "Are you ready, Steven?"

Steven considered it, and then he nodded.

"Wait!"

Everyone looked suddenly to Spinel. She reached into her gem and pulled out a camera, stretching her arm out in front of them.

"Say cheese!" She snapped the picture before anyone could even think to listen. She pulled her arm back to her body, along with the camera, and put it back in her gem. "I promised Greg I'd take pictures!"

"Right." Was all Pearl said in response, "now are we ready?"

Steven nodded once more. Pearl gave a nod to Garnet, and then it happened all at once. Suddenly, they were no longer standing in the house, but were instead floating in an infinite cosmos, surrounded by a slipstream of white. It was nothing like Steven imagined it. It didn't hurt (Pearl had promised that much) but the feeling was something far different. Something he could hardly begin to comprehend, let alone explain. Every small fragment of his body reduced to little more than light, and the feeling inside was something he likened to the Sky Dropper at Funland, except it seemed to stretch on for eternity. Despite being nothing more than light, he swore he could feel Pearl's grip tightening around him, holding him tight to her body, but he couldn't see. He could see nothing but endless universe.

Then it was over, and Pearl was indeed holding him tight. So tight Steven found it near impossible to breath, but his mind hadn't yet caught off with his body. Before it did, Pearl released her grasp, and instead of staring into endless nothingness, Steven found himself staring at the starry night sky.

"You okay, Steven?"

Steven's ears still rang from the experience, but he shook away the deafening noise. "Yes. That was… weird."

"I would expect so." Pearl took her arms completely off of Steven, and walked up alongside him. "You're entire physical body was just turned into light."

"Huh. Neat."

Garnet was the first to step off the platform. "Come, Steven."

Spinel was the next to follow, giving Steven a playful glance before bounding after the leader. Her squeaked echoed across the silent night. The more Steven listened, however, the more he realized it was anything but. Walking over to the edge, Steven worked up the courage to peer over it and into the black water below. Nothing but ocean, as far as the eye could see. That is, except for the platform he stood on, leading to the only other thing in the endless black.

At first, Steven could have mistaken it for a lighthouse; tall, spiraling, and bringing forth a sense of vitiligo from simply looking up at it. Steven couldn't imagine what it was like to stand at the top and to stare down into the void.

"Come on, Steven!" Amethyst's call echoed through the night, "Or we'll leave without ya!"

Steven suddenly remembered himself. "Coming!"

Now that Steven was close enough to see it through the fog, the spire didn't look much like a lighthouse at all, apart from its overall shape. Holes littered the foundation, and what little remained of it was riddled with cracks and fractures. Had this been a human-made structure, Steven was sure moss and vines would have been covering the majority of it, but something about it being gem-made seemed to ward off any naturally occuring damage.

"It wasn't like this a hundred years ago…" Pearl's words were haunted with memory.

"Man, that thing fugly." Amethyst's words were the exact opposite.

"I'm sensing structural integrity…" It was impossible to read Garnet's words.

Spinel only snapped another picture.

"Is it safe for Steven?" Pearl asked.

"It should be." Garnet said, "We just have to be extra careful." She walked toward the hollow opening with all the confidence of someone who knew exactly how things were going to play out.

Steven felt a delicate hand grab his.

"Stay close to me, Steven." Said Pearl.

Another force seized his other hand, undeniably Spinel, leaving Steven trapped in the middle. The two gems led Steven in behind Garnet, into the strange darkness that lay behind the entrance. Despite the black barrier, it was surprisingly light inside, the shine of the moon lighting their path. Amethyst was the last one in.

"Talk about spook central."

"Amethyst." Pearl snapped, "Be serious."

There was a snap beneath Steven's feet as the stone scaffolding gave way to the abyss below; had he not been held at both sides, the ocean would have claimed him, but now he only hovered in mid air. As soon as the sound cut through the air, Pearl had pulled Steven close to her body and Spinel, unwilling to let go of her best friend, Spinel stretched along with him.

"That's it!" Pearl decided, "We're taking Steven home now." Pearl pulled both Steven and Spinel away from the newly-formed hole.

"What?" Steven cried, pulling away from Pearl's instant grasp; Spinel still refused to release hers, but Steven didn't mind. "You said I could go on this one!"

"That was before we realized what shape the spire was in!" Pearl argued, and then aside to herself, she said, "I should have checked before getting your hopes up."

"Come on, P!" Amethyst suddenly appeared, as she often did, "What's wrong with one little spill?"

"Spill? SPILL? He could have fallen, Amethyst! Into the ocean!" Pearl appealed to Garnet.

"You agree, don't you Garnet? We have to take him back!"

Garnet hummed as she thought it over. "It is in worse shape than I thought…"

"What?" Amethyst threw her hands to her sides, "Come on, Garnet! It's his first mission!"

"Yeah!" Spinel agreed, "Let him stay! We're already here!"

"Yes." Garnet decided at once, "And the longer we stay here, the more we risk not getting the statue to its place before midnight, and the more chance Steven has of falling through." She turned around. "Steven comes."

Steven, Amethyst, and Spinel cheered while Pearl yelled her frustration.

"Fine!" She carefully placed Steven back down beside her. "I still think this is an awful idea."

"And that's why you're not the leader." Spinel said, then pulling Steven along said, "Come on! The spire isn't gonna fix itself!"

The first obstacle they encounters, besides the occasional cave-in, was a crevice that separated their floor from the steps that lead to the one above. When Garnet held out an arm, all the Crystal Gems fell into line.

"What's the prob, bob?" Amethyst asked, "We could clear this no problem."

Garnet lowered her arm. "No."

"Why not?"

Garnet didn't answer. Instead, with her back turned to the rest of the Crystal Gems, she took off her glasses and threw them over the edge. While, at first, they followed the path they were always destined to, but then they seemed to stop midair, much sooner than they should have. Then they were sucked down and into the waves of the ocean below. With a wave her Garnet's hand over her face, the glasses had returned to her, and she finally turned to face them all.

"There's a vortex that stops all but a Lapis Lazuli from passing."

"Oh, that's not good." Pearl put a finger to her lips. "We'll have to find a different way around."

"Yes." Garnet agreed, "But first, someone grab Spinel."

Steven hadn't realized the chipper gem had left his side until Garnet's order inquired him to look, and he found her missing. Not missing, just somewhere else, and it wasn't hard to find out where. Drawn by her curiosity, forgetting all of Garnet's warnings, and leaning almost completely over the edge as she peered down into the abyss below. Steven made a motion to run forward and pull her back, but Amethyst was faster.

In a flash of purple and white, and later pink, she had pulled Spinel away from the edge and back to the ground. Even after her speed dash had ended, Amethyst still kept a tight hold on Spinel.

"You've got to me more careful." She told the pink gem, and Steven couldn't remember ever hearing such sincerity in her voice.

Pearl put a hand on her hip, "That's a lot, coming from you."

"Like I need to take advice from some toothpick with a nose bigger than her waist!" Amethyst snapped back.

Before Pearl could do more than gasp, Garnet was in between the two. "Not. Now."

All fell silent. Garnet, without another word, looked from pillar to pillar, contemplating her next move before she finally seemed to decide on something and made her way toward one of the more distant pillars. She gave it a few experimental taps, hummed carefully to herself, and then gave a nod. Then, in an instant, she had ripped it off its foundations and the structure around her gave a dangerous shudder, and then all was still.

"It wasn't one of the more important ones." Garnet explained.

Steven couldn't find his voice even if he had any questions to ask, other than how she knew. She carried it like it was nothing more than a stick or a twig. She threw it over the edge, and though the vortex sucked it down, it's great size kept it wedged on the two platforms, like a bridge.

"I suppose that works…" Pearl said.

Garnet walked over to Spinel and Steven, holding out her arms. Spinel understood the order before Steven did, and she let go of his hand. Garnet sat there waiting until Steven understood what she was intending to do. He held out his hands as well, and Garnet took them in hers, lifting Steven up with such force that she nearly ripped his arms from their sockets.

"Cross one at a time. I don't know how much weight the pillar can hold, and the vortex is already putting a lot of stress on it. I'll carry Steven."

She tossed him over her shoulder like a ragdoll. This forced Steven to look down at the swirling vortex as they crossed the makeshift bridge, making the sickening sense of vitiligo return with a vengeance.

Steven was glad when they finally reached the other side and Garnet placed him back on the ground.

"I think all the blood rushed to my head." Steven half-joked.

Garnet gave the go-ahead, and Pearl was the next to cross the bridge. She carried herself with such pride and dignity one would think she was the leader. The moment both of her feet touched the other side, Amethyst raced over with much less grace and honor, knocking Pearl to the stone as she rushed past.

"Amethyst!"

Amethyst paid no mind to Pearl's cries. Spinel was the last to cross, and she took her time doing it. Once or twice she seemed to consider peering over the edge once more, and one or twice she decided against it. She reached the otherside with an excited bounce, knocking Pearl right back down just as she was about to stand again.

"That went better than expected." Garnet said.

"Yes." Pearl was finally able to stand without being knocked around, "Let's just hope it stays that way."

The brief lapse of peace lasted for the next few floors, until yet another obstacle made itself known. No one had known it at first, until Garnet suddenly grabbed Pearl and Amethyst, far too caught up in their own bickering to notice the spire that was falling toward them. No one noticed except Garnet.

"Woah." Amethyst struggled for her words, "Nice save, G."

Garnet said nothing.

Pearl looked down at the fallen pillar. "This shouldn't have happened!" She insisted, "It's as if the foundation is completely chewed… through. Oh MY STARS!"

At first, Steven didn't see what had made Pearl jump like she did, but once he saw one, others started to appear, and it was impossible not to see them. Small, but in multitudes, and all the same; worm-like creatures made of pure ice, with spikes of white going down along their spine, and a gaping mouth of violet and pink. No eyes, no gems. Just worms, every single one of them with a similar motive.

"Crystal Shrimp!" Garnet called, and something about the way the other Crystal Gems reacted left Steven on edge. All of them took a step back, even Garnet, the bravest among them.

Suddenly, all weapons were drawn; Garnet's gauntlets, Pearl's spear, Amethyst's whip, and Spinel's mallet. The only one without a weapon was Steven.

"They're everywhere!" Pearl cried.

Steven looked down at one. It was surprisingly flexible for something that looked so hard; moving like an inchworm and emitting a strange, gurgling sound, like someone trying to speak underwater. He leaned down to get a closer look, and the creature gave a muffled hiss in response.

"It's kinda cute."

Pearl pulled him back. "You won't think that when it stings you!" Then she started to drift off and talk to herself, "Why didn't I account for Crystal Shrimp in a Moon Spire? It's common sense that wherever a Lapis Lazuli goes, Crystal Shrimp follow."

Amethyst laughed as one of the shrimps wiggled close to her. "What exactly is this thing meant to do? It doesn't even have legs!"

"It doesn't look like much of a shrimp, either." Steven pointed out.

Amethyst immediately seized the opportunity. "But you sure do!"

Then is was Spinel's turn. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

Amethyst's jaw dropped, and though she searched for a comeback, it seemed that none came to mind. Her next course of action was to laugh at her own humiliation.

"They are more like chitons." Garnet said in response to Steven's statement, completely ignoring the other two gems.

Steven turned to Amethyst. "What's a chiton?"

Amethyst shrugged.

Despite her earlier caution, Pearl leaned down toward one of the shrimps, close enough to get a good look without being stabbed. "And these look expertly made too. Whatever Lapis made these knew what she was doing." Pearl stepped safely away from the Crystal Shrimp before turning to the four other Crystal Gems, though her next words were mostly aimed as Steven and Garnet. "Without their Lapis here to keep them in check, their numbers have skyrocketed, and they've chewed through the very spire they were meant to protect!"

Garnet shook her head slowly. "It is a shame we have no Lapis Lazuli with us; these Crystal Shrimp would be useful in guarding the temple. Maybe I could…"

Garnet rubbed her left palm with her right hand, but then shook her head. "No. We have to poof them."

Pearl gave a twirl of her spear. "Way ahead of you." She lunged the weapon and it struck one of the creatures squarely in its gaping jaws.

Amethyst was the next in action, aiming her whip and striking two of the shrimp, one after the other, and watching them crack into a thousand pieces before poofing into dust. Soon, it was all four of the Crystal Gems; everyone except Steven. Something about the act, fracturing living creatures apart, watching them disappear into nothingness, made him sick to his stomach. At least when they fought the gem monsters, it was in self defense, and they weren't actually killing them, just sending them back into their gems and bubbling them so they couldn't be hurt anymore and so they couldn't do the hurting anymore. With this, there was no defense, just slaughter. There was no gem to bubble, just dust. Just death. He couldn't watch anymore, and so he looked to the floor instead.

That's when he discovered one of the opaque creatures inching toward him, like a caterpillar, and making those tiny squeaking noises that he heard all around him as more creatures poured out from their hiding holes. Once it got within a few feet of him, the solitary worm sat up on its haunches and, if it had eyes, Steven was sure it would be looking into his soul. It made no motion toward him, hostile or otherwise.

"Steven!"

Suddenly a spear pierced the creature, and with a horrifying scream that send a shiver down Steven's spine, the creature exploded into a cloud of crystalline dust.

"Did it touch you?" Pearl asked.

"No!"

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Good."

Then she went back to slaughtering the infestation. When all the creatures had been exterminated or fled back into the depths of the structure, they continued on. Steven couldn't help but look back, barely aware he was walking and barely aware of Spinel with her arm interlocked with his. What remained of the creatures that had fled returned returned the moment they were out of the room, watching as the gems went and shaking at the sight. Steven felt like throwing up.

He quickened his pace to match Garnet's.

"Garnet?" He asked.

"Yes, Steven." Garnet replied; it wasn't a question.

"Huh?"

"We had to, Steven. There was no way for us to safely get past without parting the way. Those creatures are like animals, Steven; they wouldn't have listened to any of us. Not even me."

"But if they're animals, then they didn't know any better!"

"Maybe not. But it still had to be done."

Garnet picked up speed, and Steen slowed to the back of the ground. Spinel tightened her grip on Steven's arm.

"Don't be sad!" She said, "Look! We're almost at the top!"

They were nearly at the top, from what Steven could tell. Pearl had said the spire had a hundred floors, and they had already crossed a great deal of them.

"Yes." Pearl agreed, "If I'm correct, we should be right near the top! Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Um." Amethyst said, looking around "Where's the staircase?"

Steven looked around too, and so did Spinel. He saw no staircase, only solid walls encasing them on all times.

"There's still one more obstacle in our way…" Garnet said slowly.

Garnet raised her left hand and pressed it to the wall closest to her. A panel lit up bright at her touch, and a blue light flooded into the dim room. The wall immediately fell away, falling apart and disappearing into dust like the Crystal Shrimp had. It's disappearance revealed the obstacle that Garnet had predicted.

A large expanse of rushing water, cascading from nowhere and flowing down the side of the spire. Far too strong and fast to walk through; at least, for Steven. The roar seemed deafening when comparing the silence that Steven had grown accustomed to. On the other side, the smallest platform, and the stairwell leading to open sky.

"Another vortex?" Pearl asked.

"No." Garnet replied, "It's just enchanted water."

"So you're saying we can jump it?" Amethyst asked hopefully.

Garnet took her time answering. "Yes."

"Sweet."

Then Amethyst was gone, reappearing on the opposite side of the room.

"Amethyst, be careful!"

Pearl's plea went unnoticed, and Amethyst sped past, clearing the rushing river and landing on the other side with a skid that brought her dangerously close to the edge. Once she had found her footing and was sure she wasn't going to fall, she gave two thumbs up.

Pearl gave an indignant shout. "Oh all the dangerous things, Amethyst!"

"I lived, didn't I?" Amethyst shouted back.

Spinel shrugged. "She's got you there."

Spinel scooped Steven up into her arms, but instead of running and jumping like Amethyst had, she simply stretched her legs long enough to step over the river and join the purple gem. On the other side, Pearl looked down into the water and then back up at her leader.

"I can't jump this!" She insisted.

"Very well."

Garnet took that as an invitation to grab Pearl by the arms and hoist her over her shoulder, much like she had done with Steven. Pearl tried to call out an objection, but Garnet didn't give her the time before jumping the river, drifting down to the other side with as much grace and elegance as a bird feather. Once her feet were planted on the ground, she placed Pearl back on the floor. Frazzled, Pearl began to feverently brush over her clothing, her face flushing a pale blue.

"Maybe give me some warning next time?" She suggested.

"I got you over," Garnet said, "That's all that matters." She pushed effortlessly past Spinel, Steven, and Amethyst and made her way up the stairwell. "Come now."

Amethyst was the first to follow, soon followed by Pearl, and lastly by Spinel and Steven. Any exhaustion Steven had accumulated over the extensive journey faded away just like the wall. Just like the Crystal Shrimp. His first mission was going to be a success, and he didn't even need half the stuff he packed! Even though Amethyst had eaten most of his food half way up, there was still plenty to last him all the way back down, across bridges, past collapsed walls, and back home to his bed.

The sky was every bit as beautiful as Steven remembered. An inky blackness, entrapping millions of distant, burning stars, and the brightest thing of all, the full moon shining down on them. When Steven's gaze shifted downward and he finally started to take in the beauty at the top of the tower, he noticed a few things: half a dozen spires of white stone, reaching skyward and narrowing down to a point; an empty moat surrounding them, and Steven guessed the water once contained inside its dry divot had long since fallen to the ocean; and in the center, the center of many branches of dry passages connecting to the equally dry moat, was a fountain. At the center of the fountain was a pedestal, the exact right size for the Moon Goddess to sit upon.

"Oh, good!" Pearl looked to the sky, "We can still save this monument of gem history!"

Garnet turned to Steven and held out her hand, "The statue, Steven."

"Right." Steven pulled his hamburger off his back pack and undid the first zipper, then the second zipper, then the third. As he went through each zipper, pouch, and pocket, he slowly grew more frantic. He started to comb through the same places he had looked through only moments before, as if there were some possibility he had overlooked it among the blankets and chip bags and oreos.

"The statue, Steven." Garnet replied, her voice deepening.

"I…" Steven still searched mindlessly through the array of items, "I don't have it."

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and everyone turned to Spinel. Her heart backpack rested on the floor beside her, the front zipper open and revealing the multitude of gum packets inside. In her hand, was the very statue Steven sought after.

"You left it on the bed." She said matter-a-factly, "There ya go!"

Spinel tossed the statue carelessly to Garnet, who caught it with both hands. Garnet was the one who walked over to the fountain, leaning over the edge and placing the Moon Goddess back where she belonged right as the moon passed overhead.

"Stand back, everybody."

They all knew better than to argue with Garnet. Once the light took hold, the statue seemed to come to life. It's eyes fluttered open, a blinding white color, and it drifted a few inches off the pedestal as it held its gem toward the sky. A beam of moonlight came down upon it like white fire, swarming around the Goddess until it faded into grays and blues, and then it shot back skyward and began to take form.

From the light formed a flowing dress of baby blue, long navy hair and tired, sunken features. The features of a woman, a gem, Steven saw no gem except the blue one she held in the palm of her hands. The phantom blinked matching blue eyes, and as the moon faded behind the shield of a cloud, the woman began to move on her own accord. With wings of pure light keeping her in the skies, she started looking one way, then the other. Frantically looking, searching for something, before she came to look down at the gems and the broken spire they stood upon. Steven couldn't find the words.

The phantom turned to the sky and, with a wave of her hands, the clouds cleared and the moon was free to shine as it had before. When the light touched the spire, it began to change. No longer normal moonlight, it began to gain a life of its own, gripping tight at any fractures and breaks they could find. Following the light, Steven saw it fill in one particularly big fracture, solidifying and filling in the gap as if it was never there in the first place. The fountain to flow, not with water but with what Steven could only describe to be liquid light, fluid and alive. It flooded from the fountain to the surrounding moat and surrounded the Crystal Gems in light.

As fast as the moon phantom had appeared, she was gone, and the clouds rolled back in to block out the moon. Even as she left, the light remained, flowing all around them in an endless motion. The statue had returned to her original position, lowering the gem in her hands and closing her eyes to slumber once more.

"Who was that?" Steven turned to Garnet, "Was that another gem."

"No exactly."

Pearl stepped forward to explain. "Steven, that was the Moon Goddess. She's not exactly a gem herself, but she's one of the four powers that gave life to the first gems. It's by their laws that all gems are governed."

"At least, that's how it was meant to be." Garnet added.

Steven back looked to Pearl, and she continued. "We don't know their true laws; no one does. Over time, their words became twisted and corrupted to fit an agenda. Their words were forgotten, and so were they, until about seven thousand years ago when this spire was built."

Steven thought, and then he asked, "She looked like she was searching for someone."

"Probably the other three Goddesses." Pearl concluded, "Or at least the Sun Goddess. She won't stop until they're reunited."

"Aww." Steven began to tear up, "She looking for her family?"

"Something like that." Garnet replied.

"That's so sad. We have to help her! I can't imagine being without you guys!" He looked around at the most important people in his life, and it was like a knife was rammed through his heart as he realized that not everyone he loved in life was there, "It's my birthday! And I barely spent any of it with dad! I have to go back!"

Before any gem could agree or disagree, Steven had already made up his mind. Back down the spire, easier now without the floor crumbling beneath his feet, only to realize that he couldn't get back down himself. That didn't matter, however, because the gems were right behind him to help. Over the river, past the Crystal Shrimp, over the vortex (Garnet had to make a new bridge) and back to the warp pad. Back to Beach City.

Spinel carried him much of the way to the car wash but, after he asked, she left him to run the rest of the way. He could spend time with Spinel any time, and he always did. It was so rare that he got to spend time with his dad. It took a while, but when Greg stumbled out of the van, confused and once again armed with his waffle iron, Steven pulled him into the tightest hug he could manage.

"Stewball?" Greg's voice was still clouded with sleep, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing." Steven whimpered, "I just missed you."

"Aww, Stewball." Greg returned his son's hug, "It's okay, it's fine, I'm here."

"I'm a terrible son!" Steven wailed, only hugging his father tighter.

"What? Why would you say that?" Greg was wide awake now. He pulled Stevfen away from him so they could look each other in the eye, "Steven?"

"I went with the gems to an ancient spire from thousands of years ago to return an ancient artifact to the top of the spire and fix it because it was falling apart, and there were vortexes and rivers and these things called Crystal Shrimp that tht gems said were dangerous but I don't think they were and then we returned the statue and Spinel had it in her backpack because I forgot it on the bed and then there was this lady that was also not a lady, she was just like, the moonlight, and she was searching for family and I started thinking of you!"

Greg blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry!" Steven didn't have the strength, or the breath, to repeat himself, "I didn't even let you finish what you were gonna say when Pearl interrupted you."

"Oh, it was nothing important!" Greg insisted, "It's just that I got some tickets for this super cool rock show tomorrow night. I figured I could take you. Just you and me, you know. Father son bonding. I was going to get some for tonight, but then I found out you had that gem thing, so I called up my old friend Sunshine Justice and she hooked me up with some new ones."

"Really?" Steven sniffled.

"Yeah! I promised I wouldn't get in the way of your gem stuff. I mean, you are a legacy after all, so who am I to stop you?"

Steven laughed. "Who are you?" He quoted, "Just the best dad ever…"


	5. Giant Woman

"I can't believe you're letting Steven go with us!"

Pearl's mind was a frenzy of thoughts and emotions. Garnet's _couldn't _be serious! They had agreed years ago that Steven's first mission would be to the Sea Spire; it was the safest of all the spires, and definitely the safest Gem structure remaining on Earth. They _never _agreed to _this!_

"The Sea Spire was one thing, but the _Sky Spire?!" _

Garnet was unperturbed at Pearl's anxiety. "Would you rather he go with me and Spinel to the Earth Spire at the bottom of the lava lake?"

"No." Pearl pouted, "Steven's isn't fireproof. But can't you take Amethyst with you and I take Spinel? I can't keep an eye on Steven and Amethyst _both_!"

"Spinel isn't much better." Garnet pointed out, "And she is the only one that can flatten herself to such a degree that is necessary for this mission. There are many tight spaces and confined passages that not even I can pass safely; it has fallen apart without the statue protecting it."

"Then I can just leave Steven and Amethyst _here!_" Pearl begged, "I can go to the Sky Temple alone, I know it better than _anyone-"_

"No." Garnet's voice was stern. "You know as well as I that Steven is more than capable. He is a Crystal Gem as you and I, and he had every right to see this place of heritage and help retrieve the Heaven Beetle."

Before Pearl could say the counter-argument that had formed in her mind, Garnet held up a hand and silenced her.

"And Amethyst has a particular set of skills that can help you on this mission. She has a casual approach to less-than-casual situations."

"Yeah, but-"

"She may have a different fighting style than you, but Amethyst is not a child, nor is she a particularly young gem." Garnet said, "Steven is a teenager now, and he has Rose's gem. He needs to learn, and this is how we do it. We cannot keep him locked away forever."

Pearl struggled to find words, to find some argument to rival Garnet's. To get it through to her that Steven was too young, Amethyst too reckless, and the Sky Temple too deadly. In the end, the only thing she could settle on was, "What if he gets hurt…?" She was shocked by the grief in her own voice.

"Then he will learn from it."

"But I'm supposed to protect him!" Pearl argued. Suddenly, all the strength left her lower body and she sank to her knees, her hands naturally folded together, and her voice only fractured worse, "He's all we have left of Rose! Garnet, if he gets hurt, I…"

"Hush."

Garnet tilted Pearl's head up to look at her, and even through the visors, Pearl could clearly imagine Garnet's eyes meeting hers; red, blue, and purple.

"You'll wake Steven..." Garnet's voice was surprising soothing, and Pearl quickly realized when when she saw the blue in the gem's visors; it quickly flashed back to red.

"Please…" Pearl begged, "Can't we just leave him here, where it's safe?"

"The world is never safe, Pearl." Garnet's words held a far darker meaning, "Steven needs to learn that, and it's better he learn it with _you _and not have to do it _alone."_

Garnet took Pearl's hands and helped her slowly to her feet.

"Steven will be fine." Garnet went on, "I know he will; he'll be with you."

"I…" Pearl knew she could trust Garnet with anything, "I'm scared… I can't lose anyone else… not like I lost _her..._"

"You never lost Rose." Garnet looked to the loft where Steven slept soundly, "Rose is _here."_

Pearl followed Garnet's gaze to the slow rise and fall of Steven's frame as he breathed, "You mean Steven? Aren't you the one who keeps telling me he isn't Rose?"

"No. Rose is _here." _She motioned vaguely around the room. "In this place, in this temple, in this town. Rose lives and breathes in this world even as she's left it, because her mark still remains. Without her, this place, these people would never have gotten the chance to live. Rose is _here. _She is in every flower that blooms on the earth's surface, and in the breath of every child born. In every day that dawns, and every night when the moon rises, she is _here."_

Pearl thought about it. And she laughed. Even as tears swam in her eyes, and her heart ached with the pain, she knew Garnet was right. "Yeah. Yeah you're right."

"I know how you feel." Garnet admitted gently, "But Steven is growing up, far faster than we'd both like to admit. He's going to learn these lessons sooner or later, and I'd prefer it to be sooner, as did Rose."

"She told you?"

"She didn't have to." Garnet released her grip on Pearl and looked away, at something Pearl couldn't begin to see. Her visor flashed blue one more, if only for the flicker of a second "There is a war coming, Pearl…"

Pearl suddenly felt cold. "A war…?"

No response. Back to red.

Pearl walked over to Garnet and grabbed her arm, "Garnet? Did you have a vision?"

No response.

"You're taking Steven tomorrow, and Amethyst too." It wasn't a question.

Garnet walked to the temple door, and her gems encrusted in the door lit in her presence, and faded back to dim when she disappeared into the dark recesses of her room.

Pearl didn't feel like arguing. Even if she did, she was sure she wouldn't win. Arguing with Garnet was like trying to douse a fire with gasoline; whatever you said, she'd throw your words right back at you, and you'd have no choice but to back down. Granted, the gem was usually correct in her predictions, and very rarely did something go wrong that she didn't predict, but that didn't mean this time couldn't be one of those times, and with Steven, they couldn't afford to falter. They could reform, rebuild themselves from the outside in, but Steven couldn't. He was part human, and he was fragile like a human. He couldn't survive a harsh fall, or a harsh freeze, or an attack; a wound that would simply call for a reformation for Pearl would be a death sentence for Steven. If Garnet couldn't see that, or if she could and she simply decided to take the risk, then it would fall to Pearl to ensure the safety of Rose's child. That was a feat she was willing to die to achieve…

* * *

Steven was excited. It had only been a week since his first mission to the Sea Spire, and already he was already going on _another _mission to _another _spire. The _Sky Spire. _Just the sound of its name made his heart all giddy and his stomach tie in knots. The only thing that made him sad was that Spinel wouldn't be joining him and Amethyst; she was going with Garnet to the Earth Temple at the bottom of a lava lake, and he couldn't go. But then he remembered that he was going with Amethyst and Pearl, and all those bad feelings went away.

Growing up, all the gems except Spinel were always off on some mission, whether it was to an abandoned Gem structure or to retrieve lost gems. He never really got to spend much time with them, and when he did it was during the short intervals that they had in between, right before they went off on another mission. Gems didn't need sleep, so they were gone day and night, leaving him alone with the pink gem. Now he could go on missions with them, however, he would get to spend way more time with them. But Spinel seemed less than thrilled to be seperated.

Before she even let him on the warp with Pearl and Amethyst, she made sure that Steven had everything he needed in an emergency; food, water, blankets, a change of clothes, and of course his phone (though he doubted that he'd get signal). She had gone over everything three times with Pearl, and twice with Amethyst, to ensure they knew everything about taking care of Steven. Neither of the gems seemed particularly interested in listening; Amethyst had zoned out sometime during the beginning, and Pearl kept insisting she knew how to take care of Steven. It was an hour before Garnet finally had enough and had to practically drag Spinel away from Steven and onto the warp, where they faded into the blue light.

He found the trip on the warp just as strange as the first, even with Pearl's protective grip around his stomach. When the light turned back to reality, and his feet touched solid ground, he was relieved to step off of the silver-coated teleporter. Once the nausea in his stomach faded, it was immediately replaced with pure, giddy excitement. The hand that Spinel would usually be holding was now held by Pearl; it helped to fill the void, but it wasn't quite the same as the soft rubber of Spinel's gloves. Pearl's hand was small and dainty and hardly big enough to close around Steven's hand. Steven considered exchanging Pearl's hand for Amethyst's, but quickly shook the thought away as Pearl lead him down an expanse of bridge.

"Hey Pearl?"

Pearl didn't once look back. "Yes Steven?"

"If we're going to another spire, why don't we need another statue? I could put it in my hamburger…"

"That was a disaster last time, and I hardly think I would have let you do the same this time, even if there was a statue." Pearl dismissed graciously.

"So there isn't a statue?"

Pearl scoffed at the question. "Of course there's a statue; it's the magic that holds this place together! The statue is simply in its rightful place atop the spire."

Pearl motioned to the sky, and when Steven looked up, the grandeur of the building above made his heart skip a beat.

It would have been easy to miss, especially from the distant earth hundreds of feet below; it was as if the ground had been lifted from its very foundation, scattered in bits and pieces all through the sky. Some of the larger pieces laid the base for small, compact buildings, while the smaller bits simply drifted aimlessly with no true purpose. The biggest piece of all, right in the center, held the spire in all its glory: most of it was a single, long hall, spiraling along the sides of the heavy island, and at the top Steven could just barely make out the top of a dome-like structure of white and gold. So captured in his awe, Steven nearly forgot the question he was about to ask, until that same question occurred to him once more.

"Pearl, if the statue's already at the top, what are we doing here?"

"Retrieving the Heaven Beetle, of course!"

Steven blinked. "The what?"

Amethyst, surprisingly silent up until that point, finally piped up with, "It's this cool little beetle dude with a crown on its shell."

"Amethyst!" Pearl shouted, and her face said it all; horrified, distraught, and shocked, "Don't you _ever _speak of the Heaven Beetle in that manner!"

Amethyst burped. "I do what I want."

Pearl scoffed her disapproval and shook her head. "What do we say, Amethyst?" She prompted.

"Mazel Tov!"

"Ugh! You're so unreasonable!" Pearl turned her back to the smaller gem.

Steven pulled on Pearl's sleeve to get her attention. "Pearl? If the Heaven Beetle isn't a cool beetle dude with a crown, then what is he?"

"She." Pearl corrected, "Most gems are a _she _Steven."

Steven gasped, "Sorry! Who is she?"

Pearl gave a sigh, but it was much more patient and understanding than the sighs she often aimed at Amethyst. She kneeled down to Steven's height so that their eyes could meet.

"The Heaven Beetle is a creature sacred to all gems; she _is _a goddess, but not in the same right as the Moon Goddess or the Sun Goddess. See, long ago, soon after she and the other goddesses gave life to the first gems, they had to make a choice: how they would guide and teach their creations.

The Sun and Moon decided they would appear to their creations through the same statues that kept their spire's together, to be activated in the presence of a gem in need, and to elsewise remain dormant inside the stone. The Earth and Sky chose a different path, however. They saw the unique qualities present in their gems; the ability for two…" Pearl made two seperate orbs of light, "..to become one." The two orbs joined their light as equals into a bigger, stronger orb.

Steven could feel his eyes widening at the sight. _Two to become one. _The light bounced off him and all around him, even in the daylight, and Pearl's pure white skin seemed to shine brighter than ever. Pearl closed her hands together, and the orb disappeared back into nothingness.

"They saw this gift and they wanted to have it for themselves, for the Earth and the Sky loved each other as equals, and they wanted to be one for eternity. So they immortalized themselves in the forms of gems, cursed to suffer terrible agonies for the sacrifice of their forms, but also blessed to find each other in every life they live. When they are shattered…" Pearl slammed a fist into her palm, "they are reborn." She unfurled her fist, and two small orbs circled above her palm. "And when they are reborn…" She crushed the lights one more, "They are shattered. And so the cycle repeats."

"That's terrible!" Steven cried out.

Pearl quickly shushed him, "Quiet, Steven!" She said in a hushed whisper, "You don't want to disturb the beetle…"

"I do." Amethyst said smugly then, turning to the spire and cupping her hands around her mouth, screamed, "YO BEETLE! WE COMIN' FOR YA!"

"AMETHYST!" Despite Pearl's previous statement, she was just as loud as Amethyst, maybe even more. She realized her mistake moments after and slapped both hands over her mouth, but the damage was already done.

Both of their voices bounced around the clearing for a few heartbeats before fading away. The silence was shared between the three of them for the longest time before Amethyst proudly exclaimed, "Hey! Look at these dudes!"

She marched right past Steven, and Steven followed her gait to the thing that had caught her attention.

"Look at their eyes!" Amethyst placed her hands on her knees and looked into the eyes of the small, gray mountain goat, "They're sideways!"

The goat gave an indignant maa, and stomped its hooves, as if ready to charge. Beyond her several smaller, more timid goats hid among the rocks. Amethyst's body became an even brighter shade of purple, and in a flash of violet light, Amethyst was gone and in her place was a buff, purple-colored mountain goat with a tuft of white on its head and along its back, almost like a lion's mane. The large female leaped back a few paces at the sudden anomaly placed in front of her, but when he realized this new intruder was another, even more powerful female, she bleated her anger at the intrusion and charged, horns-down. Amethyst gladly met the attack, and the two goats clashed.

"They're _horizontal, _not sideways." Pearl corrected, and she didn't seem the least bit concerned with Amethyst's antics.

"Baa!" Amethyst rammed her horns against the opposing female, and both pushed with an equal force and met in a stalemate. The sound of their horns clashing echoed down the mountainside."I like these dudes!"

"Goat's _do not _'baa', Amethyst."

"Then what do they do?" Amethyst stepped away from the other goat and looked to Pearl; even in goat form, her intentions were clear on her face.

"Scream, mostly." Pearl answered quickly, and just as quickly she realized what was about to happen, and did her best to stop it. The most she could get out was, "Do not-" Before Amethyst let out a blood curdling scream that seemed to shake the very foundation of the path they walked on.

The goats scattered at the sound; even the leader that had challenged Amethyst head-on. With her enjoyment having run away, Amethyst popped back into her normal body, crouched on all fours with long tufts of white covering her face. She blew the tufts back, and stood up straight, putting her hands to the small of her back and stretching.

"Ain't nothin' like a good scream to get the blood pumping!"

Pearl tapped her foot and huffed. "That was completely irresponsible."

"I'm just having _fun. _You should try it once in a while." Amethyst circled the tall, lanky Pearl, "Maybe _then _you wouldn't be so cranky."

Pearl seemed abashed at the statement. "_Me? Cranky? _It's _you _who does not take something as serious as this in stride. It is our duty as Crystal Gems to..."

Amethyst flapped her hands. "Blah, blah, blah…"

"...preserve and protect the sanctity of…"

"...blah, blah, blah…"

"...every living thing here on earth…"

"...blah! _Lay off, _would ya?"

Steven had finally heard enough. "Guys!" He shouted, "Stop fighting!"

Both turned to him, and then both turned away with a blush; one baby blue and one a bright shade of violet.

"Steven's right." Pearl admitted, "We have to keep going."

"Sure." Amethyst rolled her eyes, but it was clear on her face she thought just the same, "Whatever you say…"

They did just that. Entering the spiraling hallway was a shock to Steven; there were no steps inside, and instead there was a much easier, upward slope. Countless skylights littered the ceiling, and patches of light to match illuminated the floor in a creepy, yet clear path showing them where to go. The air itself smelled of mildew and age, and while it made Amethyst and Steven cringe, it seemed to fill Pearl with a sense of joy.

"You never forget that smell."

Pearl held her head high as she made her way into the shadows. Amethyst gave a shrug, and lead Steven in behind. The deeper they got, the more they saw, the more uneasy Steven became. There were countless artifacts on shelves and tables, all depicting different gems, most of which Steven couldn't recognize: big ones, small ones; ones with wings and others without; some with horns, and some with flaming hair, and others with pointed fangs and demon eyes. All different, yet all with a similar gleam in their eyes, and all in pairs of white and red.

"Steven, look at the walls…" Amethyst whispered to Steven.

Steven had already noticed the wall, but Amethyst's words brought Steven to focus more on it than the statues. The paintings, in the same hues of red and white and pink as the statues, depicted many of the same beings. Some in flight, some on land, and some in the embrace of the other.

"What is all this stuff, Pearl?" Steven asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" Pearl exclaimed, and it was immediately clear she had planned on him asking that very question, "The Sky Spire, as well as every other spire, is a sacred place for all of gem kind. It's a place for gems of all status and ranking to come together and bask in the glory of the Heaven Beetle!

Every time a new colony is founded, the Sky Spire is the first thing to be built, followed soon after by the Moon and Sun Spire's, and then the Earth Spire. It is tradition for the Heaven and Earth reincarnations to live on the most recent colonies, surrounded by the most potential; surrounded by _life! _Places with bountiful resources, like earth! You see…"

Steven found his eyes wandering, particularly to Amethyst walking beside him. Halfway through Pearl's presentation, Amethyst had closed her eyes and opened her mouth in an exaggerated snoring motion, pretending to be bored to sleep. Steven did everything he could to hold back a laugh, but when Amethyst gave up her snoring motion, she started to mimic Pearl's actions: walking on her toes, with her hands behind her back and her rounded nose stuck in the air as Pearl often did, and was currently doing. That's what broke Steven's will and made laughter flood from him like a dam just broke. The dam was sealed up quickly when Pearl spun around to face them.

Steven fell silent immediately.

"I sure hope you're paying attention." Pearl huffed, tapping her foot.

Steven and Amethyst nodded in turn.

"Uh huh! Yup!" Steven said quickly.

"Sure am!" Amethyst piped.

Pearl fixed them with a suspicious glare, but just as Steven thought she was going to call them out, Pearl spun on her heels and continued to work.

"Well, anyway, all these statues are the former statues of the Earth and Sky; they usually come in pairs since their lives are so intertwined…"

Steven caught sight of a particular interesting painting, and Pearl's words faded away. It wasn't two creatures, as all the others had been, but one creature. Small, mostly white in color with streaks of pink littering the length of her body. Behind her stretched powerful wings of water, illuminated pink with glowing reflections. Left eye red, right eye white, and a dress that looked like cotton candy; fluffy, pink, and flowing in an unseen breeze. A gem on her stomach, and other on her chest.

"Hey Pearl." Steven called, "What's this painting?"

"Hmm?" Pearl turned to Steven, and then turned to the wall to admire the painting, "Oh! That _is _a pretty one! Judging by the two gems, I'd say it was the fusion of the Heaven and Earth Aquamarine!"

"Aquamarine?"

"It's a… type of gem." Pearl answered vaguely, "One of their past reincarnations."

"Oh." Steven quickly thought of another question, "What's a fusion?"

Pearl didn't answer as quickly. She thought the question over for longer than Steven thought necessary before saying, "It's when… two gems… become one. Like that demonstration I showed you with the lights!"

"Oh!" Steven didn't completely understand, but before he could think of a follow-up question, Amethyst stepped up.

"Ya know, like if Pearl and I were smashed together!" Amethyst rammed a fist into her palm.

Pearl gasped, and her eyes grew wide like saucers. Then it changed to a scowl just as quickly. "I would appreciate it, _Amethyst, _if you didn't refer to Opal as us _smashed together."_

"Who's Opal?"

The older gems gawked at what Steven thought to be an innocent question. He shrunk under their gazes, and wrapped his arms over his chest. He felt a twinge of worry, not necessarily fear, in his gem and in his heart. He had seen both looking that way before, but couldn't remember a time when those looks were aimed at him.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Pearl shook her head, still flabbergasted from what Steven could tell, but trying to push through it, "Of course not Steven. Opal is mine and Amethyst's fusion."

Fear turned into another, much lighter emotion, and Steven's look alone was enough to tell Pearl to keep going.

"You see, Steven, there are three reasons fusion can happen between gems." Pearl closed her palms together, and when she opened it, small figures of pink and purple danced around her hands; the forms of Spinel and Amethyst respectively. "Friendship." The Spinel-clone bounced around Amethyst a few times before jumping into her arms, and the two of them disappeared in a magenta ray. Before Steven could see what they'd become, the magenta light faded back into pink and purple rays, except this time the pink one was Pearl, "Battle." Suddenly, a dozen small, crystal creatures surrounded them with snapping jaws and sharp features. Pearl and Amethyst locked hands, and that magenta light exploded once more. "And love."

Steven didn't recognize the two gems that were summoned, and now instead of pink and purple, the colors were red and blue. The two small figures leaned into each other and kissed before exploding into a purple ray, then diminished into nothing. Pearl calmed herself with a deep breath before continuing.

"To fuse, the two or more gems involved much trust each other; they must be willing to share that light, and to preserve the light of the others involved, otherwise the fusion falls apart, or becomes corrupted. In gem history, fusing for reasons other than battle is practically unheard of."

"Woah…" Steven felt a tingle in his gem and clasped his hand over it. He used his other hand to point at himself, "Can _I _do that?"

Pearl considered this for a moment and hummed softly. "Maybe. But you still have a lot to learn."

"Oh." Steven quickly brightened up, "Can I see Opal? Please?"

"NO!" Amethyst and Pearl's voices sounded in sync. They both looked at each other, looked away, and both gave a scowl.

"Amethyst and I only fuse when there's no other option." Pearl explained.

"Yeah!" Amethyst agreed, "Like, in battle and stuff."

"Well then what does she look like?" Steven was determined to get as much information as possible, "Is she nice?"

Pearl and Amethyst started walking away without answering either of the questions. Steven hurried after them as more popped in his head.

"What color is she, white or purple? Or is she blue? Pink? " They didn't respond, and so he kept going, "Does she have an accent? What does she talk like? How long is her hair? Cause, like, Amethyst's hair is really long and yours is really short."

"Steven!" Pearl snapped, and Steven immediately shrunk back. Pearl took a breath and said quickly, "Tall and gray with white hair and blue eyes; yes; gray, white, blue, and turquoise; yes, she has a slight accent, she talks more like me than Amethyst though; her hair is long like Amethyst's. Now, no more questions."

"Tall?" Steven asked, "How tall?"

Pearl ignored her own order. "Oh, about sixteen feet tall, give or take."

Steven froze. "Woah! _Giant woman!"_

"Yes, I suppose she is rather tall." Pearl seemed very casual about the situation, "Now come along, Steven."

Steven obeyed. "Come on!" He begged, "Show me Opal!"

"No." Pearl said abruptly.

"Please?"

"No!" Even more abrupt.

"Pleeease?"

"Stop asking!" This time it was Amethyst.

Steven hurried his speed to come in between Pearl and Amethyst, swinging his burger around to the front and unzipping it. He found what he was searching for almost immediately and pulled it out; the position he took came natural to him. Steven plucked a few of the strings of the ukulele delicately, and sang:

"All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman!"

Both cast eyes to Steven, but neither acknowledged it.

"All I wanna do…"

They were getting close to the top now.

"...is see you turn into…"

The artifacts and paintings became fewer and fewer and the walls grew bare.

"... a giant woman!"

There was no transition between hallway and the outside; they turned around a corner, and where Steven expected there to be another expanse of hall, was instead the exact opposite. An open field, filled with rocks and stone carvings of various creatures. Hanging low across the opening, barely dangling by a solitary strand of webbing, was a forlorn shape of faded color; White, yellow, blue, and pink. It seemed as if the slightest gust of wind would blow the decor away. In the center of the grassy field was a circle of stone, and in the center of the circle was another pedestal holding the white statue of a four-pointed star, spiralling around and around and around, hovering a few inches above the platform.

The field wasn't exactly empty either…

"_Why _are there so many goats here?!"

The herd seemed uninterested in fighting or otherwise, far more concerned with chewing the unkempt grass. A few younger kids suckles from their mothers, and nearby a large female with even larger horns circled the herd. For a second her yellow, horizontal eyes met the gems, but she clearly didn't think them a threat because she kept on with her patrol.

"Let's just hope they haven't eaten the beetle." Pearl blocked out the blazing sun with her hand, "Split up; find the beetle, but try to be gentle about it. We don't want to stress her out."

All three Crystal Gems walked out into the open. The sun was directly ahead, casting a glare down on top of them, bouncing off the white stone and making it nearly impossible to see. Steven could barely see through it, and rubbing his eyes did little to help.

"Whatever you say, mom."

Steven could feel Pearl's glare, even if he couldn't see it. "Well I'm _sorry _I want to cause the Heaven Beetle the least amount of grief as possible."

"It's gonna be a little difficult with _that _thing!"

"Huh?" Steven looked around. The herd around him started to chatter uneasily.

"I am _not _falling for that."

"It's not a trick!" Amethyst's voice began to quiver with true, genuine fear.

A shadow passed over them, and Pearl finally started to believe.

"Come on!"

Steven felt too fat hands grab his shoulders and pull him back into the shade and safety of the main structure. Pearl didn't move as she looked to the sky.

"Pearl!" Amethyst cried, "Come on!"

"Big Bird…" Pearl's voice quavered just as Amethyst's had, but without fear. Instead, it was an unconditional grief that shook her. "Oh… Big Bird…"

The shadow swooped down and was no longer just a shadow. It was a creature; big, crystalline, and (from one Steven could see) the host of several different gems.

"PEARL!"

In a flash, Amethyst was gone. And then Pearl was gone. Then both were back at Steven's side. The crystal bird, confused, paused mid air and looked around for its prey before taking to the sky and out of sight. When they could finally breath again, Amethyst flushed a bright violet and turned to Pearl.

"What _was _that?!"

Pearl ignored Amethyst's harsh words, too lost in her own thoughts to consider Amethyst's. "I should have expected this…" She muttered, venturing deeper into the hall, "But how could I have known that she'd come back here…?"

Amethyst followed after Pearl. "_Hello? _Earth to Pearl!" She waved a pudgy hand to no avail.

"She hasn't been here since… oh. Oh course. She was bubbled, it was like she never left…"

"Like who never left?" Amethyst continued to quiz.

Steven walked up beside Amethyst. "Pearl?"

Steven's voice seemed to snap Pearl from her trance, and she shook her head. "Right. Right, we still have to get the Heaven Beetle. Amethyst."

Amethyst raised a hand. "Yo."

"Think you can outrun Big Bird out there?" Pearl motioned to the circling shadow just beyond the doorway.

Amethyst gave a knowing grin, and her hair seemed to curl on its own accord, twitching with anticipation. "I _know _I can."

"Good." Pearl gave the barest semplence of a smile, "You go out there and try to find the Heaven Beetle while I protect Steven; he's not ready for anything like this."

Amethyst nodded, and then was off in a flash of light. The moment she entered the arena, the shadow froze midair and began to follow. Amethyst started on the sides, pausing every few moments to check under rocks and overturn leaves, shooting off the moment the shadow loomed above her. She moved faster than Steven ever thouht she could, even when she wasn't doing her spin-dash, but the bird was just as fast.

The minutes passed.

"She's not gonna make it…" Steven whispered to Pearl.

"She's gonna make it…" Pearl sounded confindent in Amethyst, but her grip on Steven's shoulders only tightened.

Amethyst stopped nearby, circling around a rather large rock and searchings it crevices. The gem on her chest was alive with color, pulisng and glowing in a way that was not unlike a heartbeat. Her hair was flatter than usual, and her body slumped. She circled the rock twice before the shadow was upon her and forced her to take flight once more. Her dash began to leave hot skid marks in the grass where she ran.

"Is that normal?" Steven asked, looking up to Pearl. Pearl only shook her head.

Halfway to the next checkpoint, Amethyst's glow flickered, gave way to a dull gray, and Amethyst unfurled and collapsed upon the dirt.

"Amethyst!"

The shadow loomed above her. Amethyst looked up to the sky, and from the distance Steven could see her dulled gem flicked back to life just in time for her to dash out of the way of four grasping claws of purple, blue, green, and red. The gem mutant flew back out of sight before Steven could get a good look at her.

"Amethyst!" Pearl called, "Get back to cover!"

Amethyst paused just long enough to respond. "I'm _fine!" _

She sounded anything but. The Big Bird dove again, and Amethyst barely escaped the beating rainbow rings and double-sided beak. Steven could see no eyes on the beast before it was gone once more.

"Amethyst!" Pearl called, "Your gem needs to rest!"

Amethyst came near the entrance, but not quite inside. Her colors were paler than usual, and her hair seemed more dull. Her gem wasn't pulsing anymore, but instead in a perpetual state of violet.

"Lay off, I got this!"

Amethyst was gone in the blink of an eye, and it took Steven a moment to find her again on the opposite side of the clearing. Pearl gave Steven's shoulders a gentle squeeze and said, "Stay here."

Before Steven could object, Pearl had drawn forth her spear and charged into the field after Amethyst. When she joined Amethyst, the smaller gem looked up at her and scowled.

"I _told _you I could handle it!" Amethyst said, reaching into her gem and pulling out her signature weapon; a whip.

Pearl turned her back to Amethyst in favor of facing off against the unseen foe. "Clearly not…"

* * *

Pearl kept Amethyst behind her. The Quartz soldier had worked herself too hard, and her gem was taking the heat, quite literally. _I knew she shouldn't have come on this mission!_

Pearl shook away the thought. That didn't matter now, becau_se _Amethyst _was_ there, and so was Steven just on the other side of the field, sheltered safety in the walls of the Sky Temple. The sight of Big Bird made Pearl's gem itch with memory and grief. The three-figured fusion, once a beautiful array of rainbow colors and shapes, now monstrous and horribly animalistic.

"So…" Amethyst seemed to have gotten over her previous pride, "What the plan, P?"

Big Bird landed, snapping two beaks at the same time, no eyes visible through her mess of brown feathers. Her wings folded in on each other, and for the first time Pearl could see the faintest glimpse of clawed hands scraping through the dirt. Four feet worked as a set, and the wings up front acted as a third set, pulling the large, lumbering body along.

"Pearl…"

Pearl grabbed Amethyst's hand, and she could feel the light resonate between them at once. Through the corner of her eye she could see Amethyst's gem begin to blink, and was sure of her gem doing the same, except in white. She could feel each timed flicker sending a small pulse through her body as both their light's prepared to join as one.

* * *

Steven couldn't see what was happening.

The mutant was blocking Pearl and Amethyst from view, and no matter where Steven looked, he couldn't catch a glimpse of either of them. He dared not venture from his hiding spot, not with that thing out there, and not when Pearl told him not to. What if something happened? What if they were poofed, and Steven had to go back to Garnet and Spinel with their gems in his hands? How would he explain that? How could he _live _with that?

No more of them bickering, no more of the arguments. No more of Pearl's lessons, or of Amethyst's games. The Crystal Gems, forced to three members. But poofing was one thing, what if they were…

Steven lost his train of thought as a flash of blue shot through the grassy platform. He covered his eyes with his arms, to block out the sudden explosion, but even that did little to help. When he was finally able to look again, he was met with a stunned and furious Big Bird, and something else. Something that wasn't there before. _Someone_ that wasn't there before.

Tall, with gray skin and long, creamy hair tied back in a ponytail. There was a rounded gem on her forehead, and a hexagonal one on her chest. Many of her features were that of Pearl; pointed nose, thin frame, and standing on her toes. Four arms instead of two, crossing over their chest, and eyes closed in an experience of pure bliss. Then she opened them to reveal impossibly clear, baby-blue irises.

"Opal…?"

Opal stretched out all four of her arms. "Wow. It has been a while."

Steven's heart fluttered at the voice. Not quite Amethyst, not quite Pearl, but somewhere in between. She was so large that she cast a shadow over the entire landscape.

"Big Bird…" The somber tone of Opal's voice was reminiscent of Pearl, "I'm so sorry."

From her amethyst gem she drew forth a bow, and from her pearl came a quiver of arrows. Big Bird, finding herself evenly matched with the equal-sized fusion, took to the skies, but Opal was faster. She aimed a single arrow at the fleeing creature, and when she fired the arrow of light, it parted midair into half a dozen, smaller arrows. There was a scream, and squawk, followed by three gems falling from the sky.

Opal caught each gem in one hand, and use her final hand to wave over the three, sealing them all in a silvery-white bubble. She pressed all four hands together, and the bubble disappeared into oblivion.

"Woah…"

Opal's gaze snapped to Steven, and Steven shrunk back at the icy gaze and cold, expressionless features. Something gleamed in her eyes and she immedietly made a beline for him, her steps as graceful and elegant as Pearl's, but shaking the ground with each and every step. It reminded Steven of something off an old movie, and his heart pounded in his chest with a beat in his gem to match.

Opal, not quite small enough to fit comfortably inside, bent down and gazed into the opening and straight at Steven. There was no evil or hatred in them, and no malice, but a gentle, thoughtful shine. Steven felt suddenly bashful. He found his hands searching the opposite palms, and his heels digging into the stone.

"Do… do you know me?"

Opal blinked slowly. Then she laughed. A low guffal that washed away any doubt that Steven had in his heart.

"All you all wanna do…" She reached a finger toward Steven with a hand almost as big as he was, "...is see me turn into…"

Steven's eyes widened. "A giant woman…"

Steven felt a sudden wave of excitement and jumped forward into Opal's arms. Opal was ready for him, and held him tight with fours arms; the top two holding onto his back, and the bottom two supporting his weight. One of the top hands ventures to Steven's head and ruffled his mane of black hair.

Steven laughed at the affection. "It's nice to meet you…"

Opal brushed Steven's hair out of his face in a tender, motherly way. "We would say the same, my dear, but we already know you." She held a hand to her heart, "And we already love you…"

Steven blinked. "We?"

"Oh." Opal blushed a light blue, similar to Pearl's but flecked in purple that matched Amethyst. "We are us; Pearl and Amethyst. We do not stay together, so we do not use me, or I. We use us, and we."

"Oh!" Steven suddenly understood, "I understand now."

Opal kissed Steven gently on the head. "We can't believe we can finally hold you in our arms. We have been waiting to officially meet."

Steven felt a rush of heat. "We should find the Heaven Beetle…"

It took Opal a while to respond to Steven's request. For nearly half a minute her eyes were unfocused and dazed, and her expression was that of someone who had long since lost interest. She shook her head, her eyes focused, and she finally seemed to realize that Steven had been talking to her.

"Oh. Yes, of course." She placed Steven on the ground, and despite her previous daze, she seemed to read Steven like a book, "You have a theory, no?"

Steven grinned, but he didn't respond. He hurried as fast as his legs could carry him, and Opal followed behind at a much slower pace, since her legs were so long. If his theory was right, and if the Heaven Beetle was where he thought she was...

There.

In between the small gap, below where the statue hovered and where the pedestal ended, was a small, silver-shelled beetle that seemed to glow like the stars themselves. Then Steven realized it wasn't quite a shell, but a gem. A beautiful, shining gem nearly as big as the Heaven Beetle herself. Two small antennae poked out from her head, almost like eyes, searching around for what had disturbed her hiding.

"Hey there Heaven Beetle…"

The antennae leapt to alert and pointed toward Steven with a slight quiver.

"It's okay… here… the bird's gone…"

Steven put a hand close to the Beetle. Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he was sure she was looking right at him, contemplating her next move.

"It's okay… I'm a friend. My name's Steven…"

The Heaven Beetle placed a tentative foot on Steven's hand, and when he remained still as stone, she slowly crawled onto his palm. Once the last of her feet was safely on his hand, Steven was careful to lift her, using his other hand to block out the sun and the wind. Opal stared at him in complete wonder as he held the beetle up to her.

"Wow did you know…?" Her voice was whispy and soothing.

Steven held the beetle close to his body. "If we were scared of that bird, so was she. I mean, it would look ten times bigger to her, since she's so small. She was hiding, like me."

Opal said nothing, and held out all four of her hands to retrieve the beetle. Steven felt immediately protective, and turned his back to the fusion. "Actually… I think I'd like to hold her." Then, for fear of being rude, quickly added, "If that's okay, ma'am."

Opal blinked, and after a few seconds passed she laughed and waved a hand. "No need to call me ma'am, Steven. You found the beetle, you hold the beetle. You can hold her…" Opal suddenly got a mischievous grin in her eyes, "But only if I can hold _you!"_

She seized Steven by the sides and pulled him close to her. The moment Steven broke from his shock was followed by seemingly endless laughter that pinched his sides even harder than Opal, and made it harder to breath each passing moment. Soon, Opal joined the laughter and that just made everything more funny. Even the beetle seemed to be laughing.

The laughter lasted all the way to the warp pad, and faded once they were in the warp stream. By the time they arrived home, they were both stone-faced and serious to put on a show for Spinel and Garnet.

Spinel and Garnet were waiting for them, the latter holding a small terrarium with water, sand, rocks, and a tiny tree in one corner; an enclosure fit for royalty. Inside it rested a pure red gem, identical to the Heaven Beetle in every way except her color; Steven had a pretty good idea of who she was.

It seemed Garnet barely noticed Opal, and if she did, she paid her no mind. "The beetle, Steven."

Steven was still reluctant to give up the beetle, and it seemed Garnet knew this before even Steven did, as she held out the terrarium with the open top to allow Steven to place the beetle in himself. Steven did just that, and the moment each of the beetles caught sight of one another, they ran into the other's embrace, and once they met, they stood on their back legs and, if Steven hadn't known any better, he'd say they were kissing.

Steven decided to make his thought known. "Aww they're kissing!"

Garnet gave the smallest of smiles. "I am going to take these two to my room; it is the safest place in the temple." she turned to Opal, "Feel free to explore; though you already know the place, it's been a while since you have been you." Then she turned to Steven and in a quiet whisper said, "Keep an eye on them."

Steven gave a thumbs up.

Garnet took the terrarium and disappeared through the temple door, the two gems on the top corners of the door igniting into blue and red, while the heart in their middle remained still and unlit. Steven thought for a minute. _Two gems…_

Before he could consider more than those two words, Opal interrupted his train of thought.

"I'm gonna go play in the sand!"

Steven nodded, and watched as Opal ducked under the doorway and disappeared down to the beach just as she said she would. He hurried to the window to watch her, and Spinel joined him at a much slower pace.

"You think anyone'll notice?" He asked.

"I dunno." Spinel shrugged, and her voice was duller than usual. In fact, _all _of her seemed duller than usual. "It's dark."

"Yeah, I guess it kinda is." Steven agreed.

Spinel didn't respond. All it took was a minute of silence before Steven could stand it no more, and what seemed like a million questions came out all at once.

"So what was the Earth Spire like? Garnet said it was in a lake of lava, is that true?"

Spinel was silent.

"How do you survive in lava? Like, I know you're just light and stuff, but doesn't it burn? How did you find the beetle in all that red?"

Spinel was silent. Steven finally started to notice her dulled eyes, staring daggers out the window; literal daggers, materialized out of thin air and sharpened to a dangerous point. Smoke began to steam above her head and out of her ears.

"They're _still _fused." Spinel growled.

Steven looked out the window at Opal, playing cluelessly in the sand.

"_Why _are they still _fused?"_

"Huh?" Steven raised a brow, "You mean Opal?"

"They're not fighting!" Spinel argued, "_Why are they still fused?!"_

"Oh. Um." Steven tried to think, but it seemed every thought he had slipped through his fingers like sand, and the only thing that was solid enough to grab was, "Maybe they're just… happy? Ya know, a job well done?

"Yeah." Spinel melted into the window sill, as if her body were made of putty, with her chin resting on her arm. Her gaze went from staring daggers to staring into space, and there was a sudden pop; a sound Steven knew all too well.

Steven looked to the thought bubble that had popped into existence above Spinel's head, and like so many things about her it was like a character daydreaming in a cartoon. Spinel was there, in her stretchy pink self, with her mallet swung over her shoulder. She seemed to be minding her own business, until an over exaggerated, nagging vision of Pearl walked into the view of the cloud and began to bark out nagging orders, with angry, high-pitched noises to match.

At first, the thought Spinel seemed annoyed, with a wiggly line appearing above her head, until the line turned into a lightbulb and she raised her mallet up high and brought it down hard on Pearl's head. Steven flinched at the sudden violence, but just like a funny gag, when Spinel lifted her mallet, Pear was mostly unharmed, though her eyes were in swirls and she was greatly off balance. Then off she stumbled out of frame, and then into the frame came Amethyst,

Spinel's cartoon mallet disappeared in a puff of smoke, and so did any semblance of anger in the cartoon character. They were replaced with a bright smile from both of the daydream characters, and cartoon Amethyst ran right into the cartoon Spinel's arms. The pink thought wrapped her arms around the purple one and hugged her close, and above their heads were pink hearts circling all around.

When Steven felt he could watch no more, he called out, "Spinel, you're daydreaming."

The thought disappeared with a similar pop to when it appeared, and she shook her head with a rattle. The thought was gone, Spinel's colors seemed to brightened, and she looked to Steven.

"Huh?"

Steven looked away and only shook his head. _Spinel and Amethyst, huh? _

"Nothing."

**As you can probably tell, this story will bear a few differences from the actual series; I'll let you discover most of these differences as the plot develops, but one of the main ones featured in this is Pearl's light manipulation; I needed a way for Pearl to teach Steven about fusion, and about the history of the Beetles, and this was the best way to do it. This ability will definitely be featured in future chapters, so don't think this is the last you'll see of it. I was going to use her holographic projections, but then I thought this would be the perfect way to introduce this new power and to add something new to the story. **

**Something else you might have noticed is that the gems are much more open about gem society to Steven than they are in the show; they still keep him mostly in the dark about the true inner workings of gem society, but he knows about most of the gem types, and that most gems aren't good, but that's about the length of his knowledge. **

**Also, when it comes to Spinel, just assume she can do everything you would expect to see in an old cartoon, physical thought bubbles included.**


	6. Incomplete list of gem terminology

**An incomplete list of gem terminology. This list will be updated frequently. **

**Gem terminology - Dissipation: **When a gem experiences such a strong emotion (excitement, grief, sorrow, etc) that it overloads their gem and causes them to poof.

**Poofing: **When a gems physical form is badly damaged and they retreat into their Gemstone to heal and reform.

**Reformation**: The action of a gem retreating into their gemstone and emerging with a new form.

**Shattering: **When a gem's gemstone is broken beyond repair and a gem is unable to reform.

**Gem cracks: **When a gem's gemstone is cracked; can be minor or severe. Gems can survive with minor cracks, but major cracks are almost always a death sentence. Certain gems can heal these cracks. Major cracks can lead to a gem loosing control of their abilities and cause their forms to be unstable. Minor cracks can inhibit a gem from using their abilities and have similar side effects to a major crack, except more minor.

**Healed gem cracks: **The side effects of major gemstone fractures. While minor cracks can often heal with little to no scaring, major cracks always leave a deep, albeit harmless, scar. When recruiting soldiers, recruiters often examine the gemstones of the soldiers for cracks; a badly cracked gemstone is a sign of a clumsy and weak solider.

**Gem corruption: **When a gem is subjected to the Corruption Light of the Diamonds, their gemstone becomes confused and transforms their body into an unspeakable monster.

**Gem mutant: **Gem shards forced to fuse for experiments.

**Fusion: **When two or more gems join their physical lights into one, bigger being. Can occur between friends, lovers, or in the heat of battle; the closest gems can be to each other.

**Jubilee: **A celebration honoring an important gem's Ten thousandth year of life. It's rare for gems other than diamonds to live that long.

**Rejuvenater: **A scythe-like weapon that's is used to reset rebel gems to their factory settings.

**Warp pad: **A series of teleporters used to beam gems from one area to another at the speed of light.

**Kindergarten: **A place here gems are grown.

**Injector: **A machine used in kindergartens to inject materials into the earth that later develop into gems. Kills all surrounding life in the process by sucking all the nutrients from the soil and feeding them into the gemstones instead.

**Spires: **Four temples held together by statues in the image of the Moon Goddess, Sun Goddess, Earth Goddess, and Sky Goddess

**Off-color: **A gem that doesn't fit into the roles they were assigned; it is rare that they are actually the wrong color, as it usually refers to fusions, underdeveloped gems, or gems who can't perform their duty

**Clod: **A stupid person, and a common insult on homeword

**Homeworld:** The first gem planet, and the heart of the gem empire

**Overheating:** When a gem using their powers too frequently, or too long, resulting in their gem burning white and hot. If they continue to use their powers for too long after overheating, they risk cracking, or even shattering, their gem. After overheating, gems require a period of time that varies gem to gem to cool off.

**Harvesting: **When the gemstone of an off-color, or of a gem that failed to perform its duty, is forcefully removed and shattered to be used in gem-powered technology or experiments.

**Forced Fusion:** When a gem fuses with another gem without that gems consent: considered one of the worst things one gem can do to another. Occasionally, it also refers to gems that have been harvested and their gemstones forced together into a fusion-like state.

**Accidental Fusion: **When two or more gems fuse accidentally, without intent from either party. Often compared to forced fusion, but not nearly as horrible.

**Permafusion: **Two or more gems that choose to fuse more often than not.

**Crystal animals: **The descendants of animals that have eaten gem shards and gained the abilities of that particular gem.

**Gem animals: **Creatures created by gems to fulfill particular purposes.

**Crystal basilisk: **A type of crystal animal, descended from a group of lizards that ate the shards of an emerald and gained their abilities. Shades of green, with a mane of feathers around their neck, and teal spines down their back.

**Crystal serpents: **A type of crystal animal, descended from a single serpent that ate a mouse while it had a citrine shard in its mouth, giving them some of the powers of a citrine. White and orange cobras with shiny scales that appear to be made of crystals.

**Crystal Piranha: **A type of crystal animal, descended from a piranha that ate the gem shards of a lapis lazuli, giving them some of the powers of a lapis. Blue and black fish with crystaline teeth and fins that look like wings.

**Crystal Shrimp: **A type of gem animal, made by a lapis lazuli. Made of pure ice, with poisonous spines, and the guardians of the sea spire.

**Gem shards: **The fractured pieces of a shattered gemstone.

**Gem artifact: **An artifact powered by a harvested gem. It can be anything, and they are usually made to fulfill certain tasks without a partial consciousness only able to follow orders.


	7. Cool kids rock

**I honestly love writing the cool kids and Jamie, so you can expect them to be recurring character more so than they are in the show. This chapter isn't plot-sensitive, it's more focused character development and introducing new characters.**

Steven was bored.

It was Sunday, and that meant no post from Jamie. Every other day, even if Steven hadn't ordered anything, Jamie would still visit his favorite customer just to say hi, but not on Sundays. Sundays were his day off. Today, he didn't even have Spinel to keep him company. She had been dragged away for another mission, one Steven wasn't allowed to join. Granted, she had been kicking and screaming, and it took Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst all working together to drag her onto the warp and away from Steven. Pearl said they wouldn't be back until dark, so Steven had the whole day to himself.

Well, not the whole day. On Sundays he and his dad went down to the boardwalk to play music for everyone, and depending on how hot it was they'd either go in the morning or afternoon. It was hot, so afternoon it was. He just didn't know what to do until then.

The Big Donut was closed, too, so Steven couldn't even get a donut! Nowadays, Sadie only worked there, since Lars had to go back to school. Steven hadn't seen much of Connie, either, because of that. It seemed everything was going wrong that day, but then Steven saw Lars, and suddenly everything was better.

The older teen was leaning against a nearby wall, his arms crossed over his chest and a searching look on his face. It was strange to see him outside his work clothes, and even stranger without Sadie at his side. Now, without a dress code to hold him back, he proudly wore skull gauges in each ear and a thick, heavy hoodie in spite of the heat. The hood was pulled over his head, obstructing most of his face, but his small frame and the tuft of brown sticking out from under it gave him away.

"HI LARS!" Steven waved high to make sure Lars could see him, but it didn't seem to work because the older teen turned his back to Steven. _Maybe he has headphones on. _Steven hadn't seen any, but anything was possible, so he only called louder. "HI LARS!"

Lars flinched at the sound, but made no attempt to turn toward it, so Steven assumed he still wasn't loud enough. Maybe it would be easier if he just went up and tapped him on the shoulder. Then Lars _couldn't _miss him!

Steven ran as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast considering the size of his legs. If Spinel was here, she could give him a lift, but she wasn't, so it had to to it himself. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and once he reached the former donut boy, instead of tapping him on the shoulder, he thought of something different. He knew Lars didn't like hugs, but maybe a high five would work? That's exactly what Steven did. When he was right in front of Lars, he held out his hand so close to Lars' face that there was _no way _he could miss it. Lars fixed him with a tired expression, but made no move to return the gesture.

Steven slowly lowered his hand, but didn't quite put it down in case Lars changed his mind. Steven's eyes shifted down from Lars' gaze and tried to figure out a way to make the whole situation less awkward. It wasn't hard to find a solution. Steven raised his hand again, acting more on impulse than anything, and made to tap Lars on the chest.

That caught Lars' attention when nothing else did, and Steven was met with a harsh, sharp slap to the wrist.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

Steven flinched away, holding his stinging wrist to his body and stared up at Lars. At first, Lars' eyes were firey and filled with rage, but seemed to soften the slightest bit as they met Steven's. Lars slumped back, looking to the side and exhaling sharply through his nose.

"What do you want, Steven?"

Steven immediately forgot the aggressive action and leaped at the opportunity to talk. "Nothing!" He beamed, "What are _you _doing?"

Lars looked down at him with both brows raised in utter confusion. "Uh. Standing here."

Lars turned away quickly, and Steven bounced quickly back to his front. "What? No!" The color rising in Lars' cheeks told a different story. He turned his back to Steven once more, and Steven circled back around.

"Is it Sadie?"

"No." Lars answered abruptly, then quickly muttered, "Sadie's home sick…"

Steven felt a knife drive through his heart. "That's terrible!"

Sadie? Sick? Steven felt like crying. How sick? And with what?

"Eh, it's nothing serious." Lars dismissed, "Just a cold or something. What do you want me to do, send her a care package?"

Steven opened his mouth to respond to the kind offer, but Lars quickly spoke out again and interrupted him.

"Shh! They're here!" Lars pulled out his phone and turned his back toward the street, "Play it cool. And leave me alone!"

Steven turned to look. He recognized both the teens at once; one pale skilled and fair haired, the older son of Vidalia and brother of Onion, the other copper skinned and dark-haired with tinted glasses and greasy hair, the son of the mayor. Steven's heart gave a flutter at the sight of them. Lars, _and _Sourcream and Buck Dewey, at the _same time? _And by the way they were heading, they were probably going to pick of Jenny, too! Steven waved a hand and ran after them.

"Hi Buck Dewey! Hi Sourcream!"

They both turned at the call, and almost in sync their gaze shifted downward. Both were easily a few feet taller than Steven (Sourcream a little more so) so it took them a moment to realize that it has been him to call out to them. When they did realize, both smiled at the sight.

"Hello Steven." Buck Dewey said in a monotonous voice, then his voice brightened the slightest bit, "_Buck Dewey. _I like that you call me by my full name. It's unique."

"Yo Steven!" Sourcream held out a fist for a fist bump, and Steven gladly returned it, "Haven't seen you around much."

"Don't you usually go to the boardwalk with your dad on Sundays?" Buck Dewey asked.

"Yeah, but I don't have to go until later." Steven explained.

Buck Dewey nodded slowly. "That's nice."

Steven smiled widely. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to go get Jenny and then drive around, cause that's what you do in a small town." Buck Dewey said.

"You wanna come?" Sourcream invited.

"Sure!" Steven gladly accepted then, looking back at Lars, added, "Can Lars come too?"

Lars was red in the face, vigorously shaking his head, but he immediately stopped when Buck Dewey and Sourcream looked his way.

"I don't see why not." Buck Dewey shrugged.

Lars' face lit up like the Fourth of July. "Really?"

"Yeah." Buck Dewey said calmly, "My dad's car's pretty big."

"Yeah… yeah…" Lars nodded slowly, and his voice wavered with a multitude of emotions; he was becoming redder by the second, "Okay…"

Buck Dewey looked down to Steven and offered a smile. "Come on, Jenny's waiting on us."

Steven grinned as Buck Dewey took the lead and led him, Sourcream, and Lars into Fish to Pizza. The scent immediately hit Steven, an oddly sweet, savorory scent, and then the heat came. Even harsher than the one outside, and even more violet without the circulation to regulate it. It was a sudden dip to black for the longest second of Steven's life while his eyes struggled to catch up to the dim lighting.

"Hey guys." The voice was exhausted, with a forced, chipper air about it; at first, Steven could have confused it for Jenny's, but when the darkness cleared he saw Kiki, Jenny's twin sister, behind the counter. Though her hair was pulled back in a net, a few loose strands clung to her face and her outfit clung tightly to her body. "Ya'll here for Jenny?"

"Sure are." Buck Dewey answered.

Kiki nodded slowly and called back into the kitchen. She then turned back to the group of teens, her dark eyes passing over each of them in turn.

"Got any special plans?" She asked breathlessly.

"Not particularly." Buck Dewey answered.

"Cool, cool." Kiki took a deep breath, "Going with the flow. I can respect that."

Steven looked up at the black girl with concern. "Are you okay? You sound tired."

"Just hot is all." Kiki said, "The air conditioner hasn't been working, and dad said he won't be able to get someone out here until Tuesday, so I guess I'm stuck with it,"

Steven walked up to the counter and was just barely able to rest his chin on the cold surface. "That's no good."

Kiki shook her head. "It really isn't." She sighed, and laid her head beside Stevens. Behind her, Steven could see Jenny hurrying out of the kitchen and pulling her hair back in a bun, "Oh, what it must be like to be a kid, wild and free with no responsibilities."

Jenny nudged her twin. "We're the same age, genius."

"Yeah." Kiki rolled her eyes and looked up at her double, "But I'm the only one of us who takes my job seriously."

"And that's why _you're _the _good twin." _Jenny gave her sister a gentle boop on the nose, and Kiki laughed. Jenny gave a mischievous grin and said, "Cover my shift?"

Kiki smiled tiredly, "You know I will."

Jenny hugged Kiki tightly. "Thanks, sis!"

She didn't even bother to go around the counter, and instead she went straight over. Like her twin, she too was drenched in sweat, but her smile was true and genuine.

"Hey. Are Steven and Lars coming along?" When Buck confirmed, Jenny beamed brightly at the two newcomers, "Cool! The more the merrier!"

Steven fell naturally beside Lars in the back, while Jenny joined Sourcream and Buck Dewey. Looking to Lars, Steven could feel the excitement radiating from him, as clear as the pulses of hot air flaring from the sun. That excitement only grew as they reached Buck Dewey's car and got situated. Buck Dewey was in the front, since he was the only one with his licence, and Sourcream was in the passenger seat beside him because of his mad DJ skills. Jenny and Lars got the sides, since they were older, and that left Steven squashed in the middle. Before Buck Dewey even started the car, he turned back to look at the three passengers.

"Alright everyone buckled up?"

Steven had already done so, and so had Jenny. Both found their gaze shifting to Lars, leaning back in his seat with the belt resting limply beside him. Lars panicked, looking from Buck Dewey to the seat belt.

"Hey." Buck Dewey said coldly, "You buckle up, or we're not moving."

Lars nodded quickly, his hands shaking as he frantically grabbed for the seat belt and tried to jam it into its buckle. When it finally clicked, and Buck Dewey was satisfied, he leaned back into the front seat and buckled his own seat belt.

As they peeled out of the parking lot and slowly onto the main road, Steven craned his body to try and look out the window. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere." Buck Dewey answered, "Or maybe nowhere. Who knows?"

Steven could feel Lars leg quivering against his, and tried to ignore it, but it seemed Jenny didn't have that same sense of self-preservation.

"Are you okay?"

Steven took the excuse to look to Lars. Red as a tomato, with his hands folded neatly in his lap and his legs crossed tightly over one another to make himself as small as possible. He was so stiff, Steven was sure he could break at the slightest bump.

"I'm fine!" Lars answered shakily, and his voice was anything but.

Buck Dewey glanced quickly up to the mirror, and quickly back to the road. "It's not to bunch up your muscles like that." He said calmly.

"Yeah!" Sourcream turned up the radio station, "Just take a deep breath, relax, and let the tunes flow through your soul."

It seemed Jenny took that advice, for when Steven looked back at her she was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed and her arms folded behind her head. Steven looked back to Lars just in time to see him take a deep breath and sink deeply back into the seat. Steven tried to do the same, but after a few minutes of nothing but the music and the rumble of the road beneath him, he found his eyes open and his hands wandering to his phone.

_No text from Spinel._

He put the phone back in his pocket and tried to relax once more. When he opened his eyes again, they were on a mountain pass, with a large expanse of rocks to one side, and open sky to the other, looking into the valley below. Just glancing at it gave Steven a sickening sense of vertigo, and he looked away as fast as he could.

"I've never gone this way before…" Steven said.

Buck Dewey focused on the road. "Never been outta town before?"

"Hmm, I have, but dad and I usually go the other way."

Buck Dewey shrugged his shoulders. "Always fun to try new things."

Steven couldn't agree more. When they finished circling down the mountain and passed over one last, high hill, before Steven saw the town.

It was _huge. _At least, when it was compared to Beach City. Lines and lines of single houses, and Steven could even see a trailer park and a small apartment in the distance. In fact, he could see e_verything _from up here. Looking back, he could even see the majority of Beach City, including his empty home on the beach.

Steven could hardly contain his excitement as Buck Dewey slowed to a slow crawl as they entered the town limits. A library, an _actual _library, and a health clinic! They even passed a post office (Steven guessed that was where Jamie worked), and best of all a school. No, _three _schools! Three separate schools for elementary, middle, _and _high! Beach City only had one school for all three!

Steven stared longingly as they passed by the building, the lights inside the only sign of life in the otherwise empty halls.

"I wish I could go to school…"

Jenny, who seemed to have given up on her relaxation, gave a snort. "Public school is overrated!"

"Yeah." Buck Dewey agreed, "My dad wants me to finish school and get a scholarship to become a lawyer. He doesn't care what _I _want to do."

"What _do _you want to do?" Steven asked curiously.

"I dunno," Buck Dewey admitted, "A librarian or something. Anything but a lawyer."

Jenny scoffed playfully at Buck Dewey's woes. "That's _nothing! _My dad expects me to take over Fish to Pizza, like I wanna spend my entire life in that hot, stuffy place. What if I wanted to be a veterinarian or something? I mean, I don't, but he doesn't know that!"

Sourcream stopped bobbing his head to the music long enough to say, "My mom supports me, but she's always so busy with the little bro and never spends _any _time with me like she used to."

"Yeah!" Lars agreed, much louder than necessary, "Parent's are the worst!"

Everyone in the car seemed to change their minds at once, as if it was always predestined.

"That's not true." Said Buck Dewey, "I don't know what I'd do without my dad, you know? He cares for me, but it's just been really hard on him since mom died."

The air in the car immediately shifted into a somber mood.

"My father means well too," Jenny added, "He can just be a bit overbearing at times, but with me and Kiki and Nanefua to take care of, I understand things can get a bit stressful."

"Yeah." Sourcream agreed silently, "It's not mom's fault, and it's not the little bro's either. He's just a kid. And even if my mom spends most of her time with Onion doesn't mean she doesn't care. It's hard being a single parent."

The other two older teens muttered their agreements, meanwhile Lars seemed to melt into the seat with that bright shade of red returning to his face.

"What about your parents, Steven?" Buck Dewey asked.

"Yeah!" Jenny agreed, "As much time as we spend together I'm shocked you don't speak more about them!"

"Spill the tea, my man!" Sourcream followed up.

"Well, I never met my mom." Steven started off with.

That was immediately met with a, "That's sad," From Buck Dewey.

"But with the gems around it's like I have four moms…" Steven shook his head, and quickly corrected himself, "Well, Garnet and Pearl are like mom's, but Spinel and Amethyst are more like sisters to me."

Jenny immediately let out a loud groan and fell back against her seat. "Don't get me started on sisters! Mine keeps going into _my _room and taking _my _clothes! And it doesn't help that we're the same size?"

"You think that's bad?" Sourcream challenged, "Try living with my little bro! His pet, Franklin, gets out three times a week, and I'm always blamed for it! Not to mention he takes all the food in the house, but like, doesn't eat _any _of it! He just plays in it!"

Lars sat back up and laughed. "Man, siblings are _horrible_ aren't they? Hahahaha…" Lars' laughter trailed off as he was met with a harsh stare from Jenny.

"I never said that!" Jenny objected, "I couldn't imagine life without my sis constantly hovering over my shoulder! She's my good conscience, ya know."

"And Onion's just a kid," Sourcream said, "He doesn't know better, and he can't talk. He has to find some way to let out his feelings, and who am I to kill his creativity?

Silence followed. Then, Buck Dewey broke it and asked, "What about your father?"

"He's great!" Steven chirped, "He's always there when I need him, and he gives me money for the arcade every week!"

"How come he don't live with ya?" Jenny asked, "I've seen him in that van o' his at night."

"He and I used to live at Vidalia's house, but when I was old enough he let me go to live with the gems so he wouldn't be mooching off of her. Before that, I think we lived in a storage unit, but that didn't seem very safe, so I guess that's why we moved. He said that the gems could take better care of me than he could, and so I went to live with them!"

"Wow." Buck Dewey seemed surprisingly speechless, "That. That is real dedication. The love of a father truly knows no ends."

Steven beamed at the words, but all the building joy and excitement came crashing down when he saw Lars. Sunken, pouting, with the color still rising in his cheeks. Steven offered the boy a smile.

"What about your parents, Lars?"

"They're fine, okay?!" Lars snapped, and in the brief moment he turned to Steven, Steven could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Just normal parents!"

He crossed his arms and sank back into the seat. Steven stared sadly at him, too hesitant to offer any more comfort, until he couldn't force himself to look any longer. He searched around for literally anything to focus his mind on; anything to make him forget the tense silence around him. There were so many things, a bird, the electric wire, his own imagination. In the end, he settled on a tall, brown-haired man walking a well-trimmed poodle on a lead.

"Hey." Came Buck Dewey's voice, "Isn't that the postman?"

Steven leapt up, nearly jumping over Jenny in his haste to look, only to find himself at the last minute and lean back away from her, ever so slightly.

"It's Jamie!" Steven said, "He's my friend!"

Buck Dewey slowed down to a stop near the young adult, and at first Jamie looked confused, but when he caught a glimpse of Steven in the back seat, his eyes widened and he gave a pleasant smile and wave; a motion Steven returned. Jenny rolled down her window.

"Hi Jamie!"

"Greetings, great Steven! What bringeth thou throughst mine wondrous town? Art thou on thine way to a particular destination?"

Jenny shook her head half-way through Jamie's greeting, and laughed through the other half. "Why are you speaking like that?"

Jamie blinked before letting out a nervous laughter and stuttering out a response, "Mineself hast no knowledge as to what fair lady Jenny means to indicate? For I am Jamie, fair lady, the great adventurer who traverses the great and terrible mountain wilderness every weekday to deliver post to the needy folks of Beach City."

Jenny tilted her head. "Which means?"

Jamie flinched under her sharp words, and beads of sweat were starting to run down him. He barely seemed to notice his impatient dog pulling at the lead, urging him to continue the walk. Jamie shook his head and leaned in close to Jenny.

"Listen, I talk like this in front of Steven because he likes it, and because it gives me extra practice for my plays." Steven obviously wasn't supposed to hear that whisper, so he pretended he didn't. "Please don't blow my cover."

"Oh." Jenny's eyes widened, and the realization seemed to hit her all at once, "Oh! I am dreadfully sorry, Lord Jamie, for my harsh words in uh… in response to your unique way of speech. So to you I extend my most… sincerest apologies. Lord Jamie."

Jamie, at first, was speechless. Then he fell right back into the character and said, "Art thine and thou companions off for a drive in this lovely carriage?"

"Yup." Buck Dewey answered politely, "Just seeing where the open road takes us."

"Absolutely splendid!" Jamie proclaimed, clapping his hands together, "Mayhaps thine open road shalt take thee down the path and to the left? I knowest of a lake where the sun dost glimmer and the birds doth sing, where such weary travelers may rest their weary bones."

"Thanks!" Sourcream thanked.

Jamie nodded, "Farewell, great Steven." He gave a polite bow, then gave a tiny tug on the lead in his hand, "Come, Caesar."

Jamie lead his poodle back onto the grass as Buck Dewey pulled back off into drive. Steven watched as they drove past Jamie, and turned back in his seat to watch as the postman disappeared behind them.

"Oh, swimmin sounds fun!" Jenny exclaimed.

Sourcream nodded his agreement. "Yeah it does!" She reached down to the zipper on his pants, near his knees, "Pants become shorts!"

He unzipped the bottom half of the pants, and tossed the discarded pieces on the floor beside his feet. Buck nodded softly.

"The lake it is."

* * *

Steven swung his legs over the edge of the lake, dipping his feet into the cold water. It was beautiful, but not as big as Jamie had described it to be. It was more of a pond than a lake, but birds did sing and when they drove up, they saw a family of rabbits scatter into the grass while dozens of frogs leaped into their watery domain. Steven looked to his folded shirt and grabbed his phone, checking his notifications.

No new messages.

"You comin' in, Steven?" Jenny called from the water; she had stripped down to her bra and underwear with seemingly no embarrassment.

Steven considered this was he looked down into the grimy water. "I dunno." He admitted, "Pearl doesn't like me swimming without my floaties…" Then, another situation popped into his head and he added, "But then again, I did nearly drown at the bottom of the ocean in a bubble, so a lake should be fine."

He put his full weight into the shallows of the pond, and gave a shudder as his feet sank deep into the sticky mud. He took a moment to get used to it while he looked back at Lars, still on the shore and sitting against a rather large rock.

"Do you want to swim, Lars?"

"I'm fine!" Lars snapped, pulling his legs closer to his body, "I don't wanna…"

A thought crossed Steven's mind. "Can you swim?"

"What?" Lars' voice was genuinely confused, before he shook his head and returned to that same, harsh tone, "Of course I can swim you little-"

"Hey." Buck Dewey interrupted him, splashing toward the shore, "No swearing in front of Steven."

Steven shrunk into his shoulders and held his arms to his chest. "You don't have to be so mean, Lars…"

"Yeah!" Jenny agreed from the water, "Stop being such a downer!"

"I'm not!" Lars said quickly, "I promise I'm not, see!" Lars began to laugh; a shrill, high-pitched laugh that shook his whole body. An over exaggerated laugh that caused everyone, except the passive Buck Dewey, to flinch back and, in the case of Jenny, hold their ears.

Once the shock passed, Steven laughed along with him. "You sound like a dolphin!"

That shut Lars up quickly, and his mouth clamped shut at once.

"No stress, dude." Buck Dewey reassured, "Dolphins are really cool. Swimmin' around, minding their own business, not botherin' no one." He leaned back and let the water wash over him with a sigh, "I wish I could be a dolphin."

"Ya know, I had a dream I was a dolphin once." Jenny commented, "Granted, I was a cheddar dolphin swimmin' in a sea of nacho cheese, but lemme tell ya, I was lovin' life!"

"Amethyst turns into a dolphin sometimes." Steven added, wanting to be included, "Like that time Garnet threw her at that big, flying eyeball."

Jenny barely reacted. "Eh, it be like that sometimes, man."

Steven finally let himself be lowered deeper into the water, where he could still just barely touch, but the water could wash over his shoulder and tickle the ends of his ear. Once the biting tingle gave way to numbness, he propelled himself forward and, without really thinking about it, began to try and paddle. He could float easily, but it was controlling where he went that was the hard part.

He wasn't sure how long they had been swimming, but they had soon delved into a game of Marco Polo, and no matter how fast Steven swam he couldn't catch up to anybody. Once, he had tagged Jenny (though he was sure she let him), but she had tagged him again not even a minute later, and he was back as Marco until Sourcream offered to take his place.

When the game was over, and they started to think of a new game to play, Steven paddled back to shore and checked his phone.

_One new message from: Dad._

_Steven opened his phone and looked at the new message._

_Hey, Stuball, it read, I went to the house and you weren't there. You okay?_

_Steven quickly typed out his response._

_Yeah. Out with SQ, Buck Dewey, Jenny and Lars._

_Oh. When will you be back?_

_I dunno. I'll ask._

"Hey Buck Dewey!" Steven called.

Buck Dewey took a break from his new game to look back at Steven. "Yeah?"

"When are we going back? My dad's asking."

"Hmm…" Buck Dewey tapped his chin, "When does he need you back?"

Steven typed out the question, and his dad quickly responded.

_I was wanting to get down to the boardwalk by the afternoon rush. Five sound good?_

Steven looked at the clock, and it read 4:30. He relayed the information to Buck Dewey, and the teen simply gave him a thumbs up and dove back down into the water.

_Sounds good._

Steven put his phone down and pulled on his shirt. Jenny and Sourcream, seeming to catch on to the situation, climbed from the lake and did the same. Sourcream hadn't really removed anything, apart from the bottom half of his pants (which he retrieved and zipped back up), while Jenny had removed most everything. Steven looked away as she pulled her pants and shirt back onto her wet body. Buck Dewey was the last one out, and didn't bother to put his shirt back on; instead, he just slung it over his shoulder and climbed into the car. Everyone else gathered their stuff and weren't far behind.

Lars was already in the car when Steven climbed into the middle and clicked on his seat belt. Red in the face, wiping his eyes while furiously typing on his phone. Steven leaned over to look up at him.

"Lars? Are you okay."

"I'm fine." Lars finished typing, shoved his phone into his pocket, and turned his back to Steven.

* * *

Buck Dewey dropped both Lars and Steven off at the Big Donut. Steven waved his goodbye to the cool kids, and pulled out his phone to text his father where to meet him. When he looked up, Buck Dewey had driven away and Lars was stalking off toward his house. Steven quickly decided to follow after him.

"You know, you don't have to be so grumpy all the time." Steven said.

Lars didn't turn around. "Shut up, Steven."

Steven continued to follow after him, not quite at his side, as they passed by nearby houses to the one he knew belonged to Lars. Lars quickly turned around, and there seemed to be flames in his eyes.

"What's your problem, Lars?" Steven asked, "Why are you so mean?"

"You're my problem!"

Lars spun around so suddenly that Steven didn't have time to react, or even enough time for him to decide how to react.

"I have to deal with you and your… your _freak family_ every day at the Big Donut, and I don't want to have to deal with you on my days off too!"

Lars opened his door.

"Goodbye, Steven."

The door slammed closed behind him.


	8. The pink lion

It was hot.

Hotter than the hottest summer Steven had ever experienced. Hotter than the hot coals on a fireplace, and hotter than the sand beneath his sandals on a perfect day for a swim. But here, there was no water in sight. No rivers or lakes or ponds or seas, not even a single cloud to block out the sun scorching the land. The only shade for miles was the umbrella that Steven held over his head, to offer at least a little protection to his fragile body; at least, fragile when compared to the much more resilient gems.

Of the gems, Garnet took the lead, as usual, with Pearl not so far behind. Spinel was right beside Steven, holding his backpack over her chest as it had gotten too heavy for  
Steven to carry. Amethyst was the farthest back of them all, dragging her feet and making indentations in the sand, usually at random. Occasionally, she would pause just long enough to create something with actual intent before using her dash to catch up with everyone else.

Steven looked pleading toward Spinel. "Spinny, can I have some chocolate milk, please?"

Spinel looked to him with eyes wide as saucers, but her look of disbelief faded into a stern pout, "Milk? In this heat? You'll get sick!"

Steven folded his hands over each other and held them close, blinking sweat out of his eyes. "Okay. Can I have some water?"

Spinel offered a smile. "Sure can!"

She reached into her gem, and as her hand disappeared into the blinding flash of pink, Amethyst darted past them and Steven had to shut his eyes so he wouldn't be subjected to the blinding sand. When he opened them, Spinel had retrieved a bottle of water and was offering to Steven with a bright express. Steven took it.

"Thank you."

He was shocked by the drastic change in temperature when he grabbed it. Still frozen near-solid, despite the blistering heat, but melting fast. It wasn't so easy to open it, but the moment the lid came uncapped (with some help from his teeth), he took a long swig of the precious liquid.

"Yo Spins!" Amethyst called back, "Chip me!"

Spinel reached into her gem and produced a bag of plain potato chips. She stretched out her arm to deliver the chips to the expectant Amethyst who ate them at once, bag and all.

Steven's water was gone faster than he would have liked, leaving him once again hot and thirsty and tired, not that he would say any of those things out loud. At least, not until one of the gems complained about it first. That didn't mean he couldn't ask a question.

"Garnet." He called, "Are we near the pillars yet?"

Garnet seemed to consider this. "Nearly."

Steven wiped his face, "Why is it so far away from the warp pad?"

"Because Steven," Pearl began to explain, "Without Rose here to tell it what to do, the Desert Glass has taken on a mind of its own. Building, destroying, and basically causing havoc wherever it went. It's never really been on the top list of priorities, since no humans live out here. Even if they did, it would still be low on the list with all these gem creatures out and about."

"Oh." Steven thought of another question to keep his mind off of the heat, "How did they all get out anyway?"

"When Rose uh… went away… her bubbles did too. It's true you have her gem, but back then your gem was dormant, and without Rose's life force keeping the bubbles stationary, they lost their forms and popped. Then the mutants got out, and they popped all of mine, Garnet, and Spinel's bubbles."

"Yeah!" Amethyst butted into Pearl's explanation, "And when we opened the temple door? It was like a tidal wave of creepy mutant dudes, you know? And they scattered, like, everywhere."

"We haven't even made a dent in all the mutants we need to capture," Pearl went on, "It took us nearly two thousand years to gather them all up in the first place, and it's only been thirteen years since… you know."

"But like, none of these guys have reared their ugly heads lately for us to poof!" Amethyst slammed her fist into her palm, "So, like, Desert Glass's time has come, I guess."

"The Desert Glass should listen to Amethyst," Garnet added, "She _is _a quartz, even if she isn't Rose Quartz."

"Without Rose giving it orders, it's started to build pillars without any clear directions or plans, similar to how the Crystal Shrimp were acting in the absence of their Lapis."

Steven got a bad feeling suddenly in his stomach; not quite his gem, but his actual stomach. "I feel bad for it…" Steven said solemnly, not knowing if he was referring to the Crystal Shrimp or the Desert Glass, "It's lost and confused… and maybe it feels scared?"

Steven knew if he wasn't careful, he'd burst into tears. It didn't take much for that to happen, but he tried to stop it when he could.

"It's a tool, Steven." Garnet's words were so cold they cast a chill even with the smoldering sand around them, "It can't _feel _anything."

"How do you know that?" Steven asked timidly, not wanting to upset Garnet further.

Pearl considered the question, "Does a blanket 'feel'? Does a pillow 'feel'?"

Steven thought, and slowly shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Then why would the Desert Glass feel?"

Steven felt suddenly defensive, and he didn't know why. "Well blankets and pillows don't build on their own, either!"

Pearl turned around quickly. "Steven!"

Steven immediately shrunk back, and any ounce of aggression he may have had faded away. He could barely feel his own hand grabbing at his gem, and the other slowly losing its grip on the umbrella.

"Sorry!"

Pearl's mouth was open in her disbelief. She shook her head slowly and turned back around, scanning the surrounding dunes.

"We have to be getting close…"

Garnet, looking in an opposite direction, pointed and said, "There."

The remaining gems, and Steven, hurried to see what Garnet had spotted.

In the distance, silhouetted black against the clear blue sky, were four pillars standing strong. Then, as if someone had snapped their fingers, one of the pillars fell apart into a cloud of dust, and two more pillars sprouted up in its place.

"Woah!"

Seconds later, a cloud of dust rushed past them, gone as quickly as it came, and stinging Steven's lungs and eyes with burning sand.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Pearl clapped her hands together, "We should form Opal!"

Garnet seemed shocked by Pearl's declaration; as shocked as she could be, anyway.

Steven's heart fluttered. _Opal? _He could hardly see, but just the thought of Oapl was enough to get him excited. "Giant woman!"

"No." Garnet said simply, and Steven quickly deflated. "We don't need Opal, this is a simple retrieval mission."

"Oh…" Pearl sounded even more disappointed than Steven was, "Well, what if we _do _need her? It wouldn't hurt!"

"But we don't." Garnet held firm, "All we need is Amethyst."

"Uh. Are those pillars getting closer?"

Steven rubbed his eyes to try and see what Amethyst was seeing. The world was still swimming with his tears, but it was still clear to see that Amethyst was right.

"Steven, stay here. Everyone else, come with me."

Pearl and Amethyst followed, but the pink blur that was Spinel did not.

"You too, Spinel."

Spinel seemed reluctant and defiantly grabbed Steven's hand.

"_Now, _Spinel…"

Spinel was reluctant to let go of Steven. Her grip tightened for a fraction of a second before she let go.

"Give a shout if you need anything." she whispered to Steven before skipping away to Garnet's side.

Now Steven's vision had begun to clear, he tried to focus on the battle in front of him. It seemed the Desert Glass sensed its imminent peril; it's building and destruction became more frantic, and for every one pillar that exploded violently in another rush of air, three or four popped up, but they weren't there for long before the same process repeated. Steven was smart enough to cover his eyes whenever the dust storms came, even if it did block his view of the fight.

A sudden, agonizing pain seized Steven's stomach. The strength in his legs flooded to his arms, clutching his gem with all his might, like the pressure would help the pain. Pain. No, not pain. Fear. The fear that clutched him so hard it could almost feel like pain. He felt like, any minute, he could lose whatever he ate that day, but all that came out was a dry heaving as he struggled to find the breath stolen from him. He felt scared, _terrified, _of _something, _but looking around revealed nothing. He was clutching his gem so hard he was sure that it would break.

Then it stopped.

All at once, she fear faded away to be replaced with confusion; Steven couldn't tell if it was his confusion, or someone else's.

_Huh? You want me to what? _

Steven blinked and looked around.

_Okay._

Steven was caught off guard by a sudden gust of wind that pried his sheltering umbrella from his hands, and that same wind carried it far off into the sandy distance.

"Oh." Steven watched as it disappeared, but made no more to follow it. He had been told to stay put, and that's just what he planned to do. Still, without the shade of the umbrella, he was at the mercy of the burning sun.

Then, as quickly as the sun had scorched his skin, a shadow fell over him. Steven could feel his soul leave his body when he turned to come face-to-face with a beast easily twice his size. At first, all of its features blurred together at once into one chaotic mesh, just like his mind with only a single thought. _Run. _But Steven's mind and his body were on two separate planes, and in that moment that Steven was kept frozen in place, his feet heavy as rocks, the monster's features immediately came into focus.

Pink. That was what Steven saw first. Then a cotton candy mane and eyes of dark chocolate; a maw dripping with pink saliva, a pink ear flicking in the breeze, a pink tail with a cotton candy tuft swaying behind the beast's frame. Breath that stank of death itself; namely, rotting meat.

A lion.

A massive, pink lion with a pink mane and dark eyes that stuck out against the unusual color pallet. All at once, something else shot through Steven's mind, a new explanation for the unnatural creature in front of him.

"Gem mutant!"

"What?!"

Steven, fallen back against the sand in his haste to escape the mutant, turned quickly at the voice, to see the gems in the near distance, where the pillars had once stood. When he turned back to make sure the creature wasn't advancing on him, he was faced with nothing but an empty landscape.

Spinel was upon Steven in a second, and Pearl and the others weren't far behind. Amethyst, at the very back of the group, clutched a gem-encrusted pillow to her chest, and both gems seemed to glow in matching succession.

"Where'd it go?"

"Did it hurt you?"

"Dude, what happened?"

"Steven, we need to know."

Steven looked around. "It… It was right here. It was pink… and looked kinda like a lion."

"Did you see a gem?" Pearl asked, helping Steven to stand.

"No." Steven shook his head.

"Maybe it was just a real lion." Amethyst suggested.

Pearl scoffed at the mere idea. "Please, Amethyst, there's no water around here for miles, no lion could survive in these conditions!"

Spinel shrugged. "Stranger things have happened!"

"It's a gem mutant," Garnet decided at once, "And we need to get out of here."

"Or," Pearl was quick to jump on the opportunity, "Amethyst and I could form Opal! Being bigger would help us to find it easier!"

This time, Garnet wasn't the only one to look at Pearl strangely. Amethyst shifted her weight, and shifted the pillow in her arms, and Spinel looked as if she had just eaten a red pepper; red in the face, and in fact, red in her body too. But, with a wave of Garnet's hand, Spinel took a deep breath and faded back into her usual pink.

"No." Garnet said at once, "We are going back now, and hopefully this creature doesn't follow."

* * *

That night, back at home, Steven couldn't get that creature off his mind. Amethyst had clutched at Desert Glass all the way home, unwilling to let it go even as tried to pry it from her hands; Amethyst held on tight, and wherever the pillow went, she did. After a while, Garnet had finally relented and let Amethyst keep the artifact, with the promise that she'd bubble it before the day's end. Then came night, and Amethyst still had the thing with her, sitting on Steven's bed and watching a movie with her two closest friends nearby.

"Amethyst…" Steven said, "Don't you think it's time you bubble that pillow? Like Garnet said?"

Amethyst nuzzled her face deeper into the artifact, "No. Mm comfy."

"Okay…"

Steven leaned back into his own pillow and tried to relax. Clear as day in his mind he could see those eyes, and that mane. He could practically feel the heat of the sand, as if he were transported back there, and he could see that lion moving closer every time he blinked until it was right in front of him and he was forced to open his eyes back to reality.

It seemed Spinel and Amethyst didn't notice his mental absence. The duo were two entranced in the movie, with Spinel taking up the remaining space beside Steven and Amethyst resting between them near the bottom half of the bed, using Steven's left leg and Spinel's right one as a headrest.

"I WANT SNACKIES!"

Steven barely flinched at the sudden shout. Without taking her eyes off the screen, Spinel stretched her arm down the loft and across the living room, to the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, and feeling around inside, she realized it was bare apart from a half-empty jug of milk, shut the door promptly and began to search through the equally empty cabinets until she found something other than the bare insides. The then pulled her arm back to her body, clutching the prize, and held it out to Amethyst. A bag of crackers, without a box to hold them.

Amethyst took a handful (which in actuality was about half of what remained in the bag), and while she focused on chewing, offered the snack to Spinel and Steven. The former and later both refused, and Amethyst shrugged, returning to stuffing her face with the salty treats. Steven only sighed.

"I'm… gonna go get some air." Steven went to sit up, and quickly realized Spinel was ready to do the same. "Oh uh, actually Spinel, I think I want to be alone for a bit."

"Oh."

Spinel seemed to deflate back onto the bed. The moment Steven left his spot on the bed, Amethyst claimed it and settled down blissfully into the blankets. All it took was a glimpse toward Amethyst for Spinel to perk right back up and settle in beside her.

The air outside was chilled with frost. Steven could hear the hoot of an owl, or maybe two, and looking up he could see some of the night birds pursuing bats in the starlit sky. Steven's breaths came out in puffs of smoke, and his body gave the slightest shiver at every change in his environment; the crash of the waves, the cries of night time creatures, and that oh too familiar, beastly figure staring up at from the shores of the beach.

Even in the nighttime fog, the feline eyes shined through as bright as the moon itself, void of pupils and void of emotion. Yet, looking down on him, Steven felt no fear.

"Hey…"

The lion didn't respond, and Steven didn't expect him to. The lion turned and fled after their eyes met, to the dark waves that crashed against the shore in a haunting melody. Steven thought he'd stop at the shoreline, but the lion made no such commitment to the laws of nature, and instead of sinking below the current, his paws touched down on it was if they were as solid as ice. Steven's eyes widened as the grand creature bounded across the rippling ocean and disappeared over the horizon.

"Hey! Wait!"

Steven ran after it. The lion took no heed to his call, and with its back turned, it was impossible to follow the glow of its eyes. The sand was cold but the ocean was colder. The moment Steven plunged into it, the breath was sucked from his body, and his hair stood on end, but still the lion ran, and Steven waded after it. When he could no longer run, he walked, and when he could no longer touch the sandy bottom, he paddled. When he could no longer feel the senses of his extremities, he began to regret his decision, and he could no longer keep himself a float, he sank.

He tried to turn back, but he couldn't fight his way back to the surface through the numbness of his arms and legs, and his clothes clinging heavily to his body, weighing him down relentlessly until all he could see was black. Somewhere on the surface, though it seemed so distant, was a splash, and then Steven was vaguely aware of himself being lifted to the surface by two strong, gem-encrusted hands.

That first breath was simultaneously the best and worst in Steven's lifetime, for though his lungs that screamed for air rejoiced, the chill of the air burned through his lungs like a cold fire. His hair clung to his face in flattened, black curls just as heavy as his shirt and his heart when he realized that the lion had gone, and again he had been the only one to see it go. When Garnet finally dragged him back to shore, and his feet met solid ground, it was the best thing he'd felt in a long while.

"Steven!" Pearl attempted to take him from Garnet's arms, but Spinel was faster. Pearl's worry quickly turned to annoyance, about as mad as Pearl could get. "What were you doing out there?" She tapped her foot, "And without your floaties too!"

Spinel had a towel wrapped tight around Steven, rubbing her hand quickly over the length of his body as she tried to ignite warmth, holding him tight to her own body, as cold as the air around them. Soon, though reluctant, Pearl began to do the same. Amethyst just stood back and watched the drama unfold, still clutching her desert prize close.

"I saw the lion…" Steven managed to breathe out in a puff of breath, "The pink one from the desert… it must've...followed…"

Pearl's annoyance turned back to concern, and her vigorous rubbing quickly ceased as she took Steven's hands in hers and began to return warmth to those instead.

"Oh! Did it drag you out there?"

Steven meekly shook his head. "I tried to… follow it…" Steven made an attempt to stop his teeth from chattering, but it was useless, "It looked like he wanted me too…"

Pearl frowned. "It went into the water?"

Steven shook his head. "It walked _on _the water."

The look that he was met with were three looks of equal concern from Pearl, Amethyst, and Spinel, and a passive, contemplative look from Garnet.

"Move."

Neither Spinel nor Pearl argued with Garnet's command. The largest gem removed the towel and tossed it carelessly to the side, before grabbing Steven and holding him close; she was so large compared to him that her arms almost completely encased him against her chest. Like all the gems, there was no heartbeat to be found, but starting in the gems in her hand and spreading through the rest of her body came a soothing, delicate warmth. A warmth that wrapped him tight like a blanket and made him press as close to her as possible to soak up all the precious heat.

Garnet removed her right hand and dragged her fingers across Steven's head of soaked hair, and every drop of water that clung to it became frozen into tiny droplets of ice, and he watched curiously as Garnet dragged them along with her hand and threw them away into the sand, where they quickly melted back into water. When Steven raised a freshly hand and rubbed it against his hair, he found every last strand of it dry and untouched.

Garnet looked down at the shorter Crystal Gems. "He was shivering."

"Of course…" Pearl muttered, then quickly added, "But why would you chase after it?"

"I don't know…" Steven admitted, "But I just… I mean… I don't know…" Garnet placed him on the ground.

"Go in the house, Steven." Garnet said patiently, "Get some sleep."

Steven nodded. "Okay, Garnet."

* * *

When Steven was safely inside the house, and Garnet was sure he was on his way to the depths of slumber, only then did she turn to truly discuss this strange occurrence with the rest of her team.

"This is troubling." Was the only words that came out of Garnet's mouth, but they were more than enough to spark the conversation.

"Do you really think it's a gem mutant?" Pearl asked.

"What else would it be?" Spinel asked, "Steven said it walked on water. I can barely do that!"

Pearl put a hand on her hip. "Are you saying this is a corrupted Spinel? Cause I assure you it's not!"

Spinel gave an over exaggerated, cartoonish laugh. "Wow, assume much?"

"Well that's what it sounded like to me!"

"Well to me, it sounds like you've got cotton in your ears!" Spinel reached up and pulled hard on Pearl's ear, resulting in a loud, indignant cry from the taller gem and a loud SPRONG.

"How dare you!"

Spinel grinned maniacally. "I dare like this!"

Spinel grabbed the tail end of Pearl's skirt and hoisted her up into the air.

"LET ME DOWN!" Pearl kicked out her legs, but they weren't long enough to reach any part of Spinel; even if they were, Spinel would just move out of the way.

"Spinel."

Spinel looked to her leader.

"Put her down.

Spinel obeyed and carefully sat Pearl back on the sand before retracting her arms back to her body.

"Thank you." Garnet gave a patient nod to Spinel before continuing, "Whatever this thing is, it is trouble. Steven says he saw it walking on water."

"Yeah, but he's not exactly a reliable witness." Amethyst pointed out.

Pearl scoffed when her eyes met the green gem-encrusted pillow. "Put that thing in a bubble while you still can, you were supposed to do it ages ago!"

"I will!" Amethyst argued, "In my own time. It's my prize, I get to choose when to bubble it."

"It's not a prize, Amethyst, it's an artifact!"

"Hey! Don't yell at her!" Spinel immediately intercepted.

"Why don't you just be quiet?"

"Why don't I shove my foot up your-"

"QUIET!"

Everyone flinched under Garnet's heat, both physical and metaphorical. Garnet looked between Pearl, Spinel, and Amethyst with visors scarlet red. When she knew she had their attention, the visors slowly faded back to purple.

"As I was saying. Steven said this thing could walk on water."

"A corrupted Lapis?" Pearl suggested, but quickly shook her head and denied her own suggestion, "No, Steven said it was pink. Maybe a basalt, or maybe a coral?"

"Whatever it used to be, Steven said it was lion-shaped, so it shouldn't be hard to miss." Garnet turned to Spinel, "Spinel, try and get an overview of the town."

Pearl scoffed at the idea.

"What?" Spinel asked.

"Nothing." Pearl stuck up her nose.

"Spinel, ignore her." Garnet tried, but she knew it wouldn't work.

"No, I want to know what that meant." Suddenly Spinel was right in front of Pearl, prodding the point of her nose aggressively, "What's so scoff worthy?"

Pearl's eyes fluttered open and she slapped away Spinel's hand. "I just think it's funny that Garnet could trust you with such an important task when you couldn't even do the task you were meant to do."

Spinel's color was darkening, and so were her eyes. "And what. Does that. Mean?" She spoke through her teeth.

"Well, I mean, it is your job to watch Steven. But apparently you," Pearl touched Spinel's gem right in its middle where the scar was at its worst, "can't keep your emotions to yourself long enough to do that simple task. I mean, what else could I expect from a squeaky plaything-"

Spinel was now just red-hot and practically smoking, her usually heart-shaped pupils exploding into a fiery rage and her teeth clenched so hard they could nearly break. Her arms shot out and wrapped around Pearl's waist, pulling Pearl in close as a peculiar cloud of dust surrounded them, and as they rolled around in the sand, screaming, with the occasional limb flying back out into view, even Garnet struggled to keep up with the fight. Amethyst only cheered them on.

"You got this, Spins!"

When Garnet's vision finally stopped spinning, she reached into the cloud of dust and pulled both fighters out by the collars of their shirts, lifting them with ease off the ground.

"Calm down, both of you."

While Pearl's gem was bursting a bright pink in her rage and shock, Spinel's gem remained mostly dull, with only the slightest tinge of pink light within.

"Now, we are going to go inside, and tomorrow we are going to search for this creature, poof it, and bubble it."

"Okay Garnet."

"Yes Garnet."

"Good."

* * *

The next few days passed without incident. The gems still had missions to go on, but with this spotting so close to home, they took their missions in shifts. Garnet and Pearl one day, Spinel and Garnet the next, then Amethyst and Pearl. Garnet did her best to make sure Spinel and Pearl were never left alone together, be it on a mission, or watching Steven.

Steven couldn't get that lion off his mind. Even when Spinel took him to Funland, or when Amethyst took him to the arcade. When Pearl did her puzzles with him, and when Garnet told her stories with such detail it was as if Steven had been there himself. Even when he slept at night, those haunting eyes would pierce into his own and wake him without mercy. And when Steven lay awake at night, knowing he'd see that creature if he dared close his eyes, it was still on his mind, dancing around his head instead of the sheep that would usually put him to sleep.

Almost a week later, it was still the same. Three of the four gems were watching Beach City, and the fourth gem, which just happened to be spinel, was watching Steven. At least, she was supposed to be. When night came, and they settled down, sleep refused to come for Steven. Spinel at his side lay still as a rock and just as cold. As far as Steven could tell, she had long since fallen asleep, while he lay awake for hours in his loft begging for the same. Turning to his side confirmed his suspicion when he saw delicate, black Z's rising over Spinel's head, fading gradually as they rose until they were eventually gone altogether, to be replaced with new the new Z's being constantly produced.

Then there came the scratching. A cruel, relentless scratching at the front door, on the porch where Amethyst was meant to be watching. At first, Steven thought he was hearing things, but when the sounds persisted and grew more and more frantic, there was only thing he could think to do.

Under the covers, with the sound outside growing louder and louder, Steven clutched onto his bear tightly, begging for it to stop, and then, as if it heard his silent plea, the scratching suddenly ceased and all was silent.

"Amethyst?" Steven called out to the darkness, and was met with no response, so he looked over to Spinel.

The pink gem hadn't stirred, not with the scratching, and not with his call. She looked so peacefully in her sleep…

Steven crawled out of his bed, sure to bring his bear with him, and made his way down the steps of the loft to the living room below. It had to be Amethyst playing a trick, trying to scare him. It wasn't worth waking Spinel, making her worry, for nothing more than a dumb prank. So, instead, Steven grabbed a broom from the closet (Just in case, he told himself) and glided slowly across the hardwood floor to the foreboding doorway.

The door was already unlocked, and so when he twisted the handle, it creaked open with a deafening sound that shattered the silence all around him.

"Amethyst?" He called to the night, and when the only response was the silence, he stepped out onto the porch.

It didn't take him long to find Amethyst, sleeping soundly on the lawn chair with one arm folded over her chest and the other hanging limply over the side. Unlike Spinel, she had no concern as to how loud she was in slumber, and her snores were loud enough to wake a sleeping bear. Steven hurried over to her and shook his caregiver.

"Amethyst, hey! Amethyst."

Amethyst's eyes fluttered open, if only for a second, and she only moved enough to crawl in a circle like a dog and settle down in a new position with her arms and legs folded under her, and her body squished into a tight ball. She immediately fell back to snoring.

"Amethyst! Wake up!"

Amethyst didn't stir. Much like Spinel, she slept like a rock, except without the silence. Steven tightened his grip on the broom and his bear both as he looked off toward the beach, and somewhere inside him he knew what he'd find, and he did.

The great pink beast was there on the beach, staring up at him with those moon-like eyes, some dark, obscure shape enclosed in its giant maw. It was looking at him, watching him, and Steven felt no fear.

"Hey…" He waved a hand at the lion, as if it understood and could wave back, "Hi…"

The lion tilted his head and gave a beckoning guffaw from deep in his throat.

"Don't move." Steven said, and he hoped the lion understood. As he passed down the steps, he was forced to take his eyes off it for those vital few seconds, and nothing but joy filled him when he found the creature waiting for him.

Only approaching it for the first time did he feel any emotion other than a strong attachment; his breath became shallow, his chest tightened, and his hands found comfort in each other. Now here, close to the beast, its eyes didn't seem to glow as harshly, and in fact faded into a deep chocolate brown. It looked down on him lazily. Larger than Garnet, more feral than Amethyst, with hair more wild than Spinel, and yet an elegance that rivaled Pearl. Yet, among his thick hair and darkened eyes, cotton candy mane and rosy fur aside, Steven saw no gem.

"Hey boy." Steven said, as he began to circle the creature. The lion's eyes remained transfixed on him, "At least, I think you're a boy. Pearl said most gems are female… but you have a mane. And I don't see any gem."

Steven completed his circling investigation, and came back to the front of the regal beast. His eyes then shifted down to the object it held in its jaws, and his eyes widened at the sight.

"My umbrella!"

And it was. The lion took a paw step forward, lowered it massive head, and dropped the object in Steven's hand. It was slobbery, covered in tears and teeth marks, but the pattern was undoubtedly that of the umbrella Steven had lost in the desert.

"You found it, haha. And you found me!"

The lion plopped down suddenly on the sand, and Steven leaped back, but as soon as he realized the creature had meant no harm, he ventured forward once more. Now, laying down on its stomach, it's eyes were almost level to Steven; almost.

Steven held out a hand. "Do you… understand me?"

The lion closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

* * *

Pearl was watching from the Lighthouse when she saw it. From a distance, it looked small, but Pearl knew better than that. It hadn't been there when her eyes scanned over the porch, but as they ventured off to watch the beach, the corrupted gem appeared in a flash of pink light. It scratched at the door, lacking any knowledge of how to open it, until it disappeared into another flash, and reappeared down on the beach. It was a moment later that she saw Steven open the front door, broom in hand, to approach the creature.

Pearl lowered her her binoculars and scowled. "You had one job, Spinel."

She had expected Amethyst to fall asleep on the job, but that seemed much more unbelievable when it came to Spinel. All she had to do was make sure Steven didn't wander off, and she kept letting it happen! If that were her down there watching him, she would have never let him off the bed, let alone out of the house! But Garnet always told her Spinel could handle it. How dumb she must feel lately.

Pearl ducked back into the structure of the lighthouse, to the warp pad, and warped down to the house. She found Spinel asleep soundly on Steven's bed, with the telltale Z's rising slowly over her sleeping body. She scoffed at the sight.

"Spinel, what do you think you're doing?!"

Spinel blinked awake at the sudden shout, her eyes spiraling. "Huh? What?" She blinked twice, shook her head with an audible rattle, and then worry crept into her voice, "Where's Steven?"

"He's in the bathroom, but that doesn't matter." She lied, "I saw the creature down near Funland, so you need to go get Garnet while I get Amethyst."

Spinel narrowed her eyes, "How come you get to get Amethyst?"

"Because I didn't fall asleep."

Spinel didn't argue, but her eyes betrayed her rage as she slunk down the loft and disappeared on the warp. When she was gone, Pearl was able to breathe a sigh of relief as she hurried out onto the porch.

When she didn't see Steven, a moment of panic raced through her, but that panic quickly faded as she saw the boy on the sand below. It returned when she saw him approaching the beast. She had to bite back a cry, she couldn't scare the thing away, so instead of running for Steven, she ran for the sleeping form of Amethyst.

"Amethyst!" Pearl shook Amethyst, because she knew words alone were not enough, "We have to fuse into Opal."

"Huh?" Amethyst eyes were spinning, but not in the literal sense as was the case with Spinel, "Huh? What's hap'n'g?"

Pearl wasted no time in pulling Amethyst into their dance, spinning the dazed gem in a spiral as their two gems charged up in preparing for their lights to join as one.

* * *

Steven could almost touch the creature. His hand was within inches of the lion's delicate pink snout when a familiar voice rang out.

"Never fear! We can handle this!"

Steven turned to be face with Opal, charging up a three-arrowed bow and aiming it at the best below. Steven looked between the frightened lion, his ears laid back and his lips pulled back in a snarl, to the assaulting fusion. He ran in front of lion, as if his small presence could help shield the blast, or maybe even stop it.

"No, don't!"

Opal paid no heed to Steven's protests. She leaped down to the beach, using one of her lower hands to grab Steven and pull him out of the way.

"Give us your best shot, beast!"

Lion didn't seem interested. He looked left, then right, then right at Steven before turning and running toward the water as Opal charged up her bow once more with her three remaining hands.

"Opal, no! He's friendly!"

Opal fired her arrows.

Moments before the points would have met the fleeing animal, he gave a loud roar and some strange, pink light fired out of his throat and spread out in front of him like a doorway, and when he passed through it, both he and the light were gone. The arrows hit the ground, and then poofed out of existence.

"Curses."

Steven gave a silent prayer to the stars.

"Opal."

Opal turned at the voice, and she and Steven came to face Spinel and Garnet. The former wore wide eyes and a mouth parted in what could either be shock or disbelief. The latter remained cold and unreadable.

"Garnet-"

Sudden, Opal was changing, and Steven found himself in midair, without the supporting arm of the fusion to hold him. Before he could hit the ground, he felt two smaller arms grip him and give him support from the dangerous fall. The two arms wrapped securely around him, and slowly lowered him to the ground beside Amethyst and Pearl, who both lay collapsed in the sand. Only when Steven was safe did Spinel stretch out her legs long enough to step over the porch and down to the beach, still holding onto Steven, and if looks could kill, Pearl's gem would be shattered into a billion pieces and scattered across the sand.

"Since when do we fuse for no reason?" Spinel asked, pulling Steven closer to her and hugging him, running her fingers through his hair.

"There was a reason." Pearl responded constantly, getting to her feet and brushing the sand from her small frame, "That thing was attacking Steven."

"No it wasn't." Steven said, "He was friendly."

"And he wasn't a corruption."

"Wha?" Pearl seemed genuinely shocked at that news. Garnet leaped from the porch and landed on the sand without a sound. She straightened up and walked boldly over to Pearl.

"There was no gem." Garnet said surely, "There was no mutation to be found. You would have known that if you'd taken the time to look." Garnet turned away from Pearl, to Amethyst, and helped the smaller gem to stand.

"Meet me inside Pearl. Now."

* * *

Garnet was furious.

It wasn't clear on her face; that was just as unreadable as ever. Her fury showed through her visor, switching back and forth between red and blue during her internal argument; her fury showed through her fists, clenching and unclenching in timed pulses; her fury showed through both gems ignited in a violet hue as their colors mixed. Her fury showed through her calm, quiet voice.

"Tell me why you did that." Garnet demanded with her back turned.

"I…" Pearl searched for the right words, "I don't know what you mean."

"You lied to Spinel. Told her the animal was in Funland where in reality it was much closer."

Pearl shook her head, and found her body tensing; she could feel an intense pressure centering in her gem. "How did you know?"

"I couldn't see us finding the lion at Funland." Garnet responded, "But I could see us finding it on the beach."

Pearl could feel her light palpitating. "I didn't want Spinel to mess things up."

"Or you didn't want her to get in the way of your fusing with Amethyst."

Pearl's guilt gave way to rage. "She doesn't take anything seriously! Everything is a game to her! She fell asleep watching Steven!"

"Amethyst does that all the time. You don't yell at Amethyst about it."

"That's different."

"Tell me how." Garnet turned back around.

"When Amethyst falls asleep, it doesn't put Steven in danger!"

"Steven was not in danger."

"Yes he was!" Pearl could feel angry tears brimming in her eyes, "This is why we stopped bringing Spinel on missions to begin with! She can't take them seriously!"

Garnet raised a hand, and Pearl was silent. "We did not leave Spinel with Steven, we trusted Spinel with Steven. Things were hard back then for all of us. Greg was mourning Rose more often than not, and was not fit to care for Steven during those periods of grief. I was needed for the missions, to give instruction in Rose's absence, and to track down the escaped corruptions. You and Amethyst could have done it yourself, but my way was more effective.

Amethyst was unreliable back then, and I could see many ways leaving her with Steven could have gone wrong, so I didn't. You were grieving as well, and in a possibly worse state than even Greg, and after what you nearly did to Steven, I didn't trust you with him and neither did Greg. I barely trusted you with yourself.

Spinel grieved, just like the rest of us, but she cared for Steven more than all of us. She didn't question Rose leaving, she didn't question Rose's decisions. She didn't ask why, or beg Rose to stay, or try to bring her back after she was gone. When Rose was alive, Spinel dedicated her life to her. When Rose left us, Spinel dedicated herself to Steven. She stepped up when the rest of us couldn't. In a way, Spinel was closer to Rose than any of us."

The rage grew stronger and stronger inside Pearl's gem until it threatened to burst out, and when it did, Pearl was glad it came out in the form of words and not dissipation.

"NO ONE KNEW ROSE BETTER THAN ME!"

"There's no need to shout."

"I UNDERSTOOD HER AND HER CHOICES BETTER THAN ANYONE!"

Garnet took a step forward, and Pearl was silenced.

"Then act like it. You came this close to a forced fusion with Amethyst." Garnet held her fingers so close they were nearly touching, "Do you think she would trust you after that?"

"No." Pearl admitted, and she looked down as a hint of genuine guilt cooled her heated gem. Garnet laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We can forget this all ever happened, as long as it doesn't happen again."

Pearl hung her head. "Yes Garnet."

"Good. I'll go get Spinel, and the three of us can go track down this lion. Even if it isn't a gem mutant, chances are it's a crystal animal and we need to make sure it isn't a threat to people."

"Spinel-"

"Is needed for this mission." Garnet completed, "We both know how adept she is as handling animals, and I suspect this one should be no different. Amethyst can stay here with Steven."

"Yes Garnet..."


	9. The pink lion, part 2

Steven never meant to cause so much trouble. All he wanted to do was to pet the lion, the strange pink lion with fur that looked both soft and inviting. Like a big, rosy kitten. Then Opal chased him away before Steven could give him even the smallest pet on his not-to-little nose. And now that his mind finally seemed to catch up to his body, he was beginning to feel cold, but he didn't dare make a motion to enter the house. Not when Pearl and Garnet were in there talking.

Steven shifted his weight from one leg to the other, wrapping his arms around himself as he rocked. Amethyst sat on the sand beside him, her eyes lost in unknown thought, and her body tense and unsure. Spinel paced around both of them, her arms behind her back, her head low, and her eyes darkened.

"What's taking so long?" The pink gem grumbled; it was hard to take her seriously when, with every step, there was a steady _squeak, squeak, squeak. _"Steven's _freezing!" _

"I'm fine!" Steven insisted, but his chattering teeth told a different story.

Spinel froze in place, and then turned to Steven, gazing at him with watery pools of emotion. She seized the young boy rather harshly by the sides, pulling him close to her and wrapping her arms around his pudgy frame. She pulled his body to hers and held him tight, constricting both his movement and breathing and making Steven's lungs burn for air. When he could no longer take the attempt at warmth, he tried to push Spinel away.

"I'm sorry…" He muttered, "I… think you're just making it worse."

The stone-cold of her body had indeed started to seep into his own, sucking out the warmth that remained and replacing it with a chill. Spinel released her grip at once and sank to the sand in a heap.

"Did… we really form Opal?"

Steven felt his gem and his heart twinge at the tone of Amethyst's voice, but he couldn't quite place the feeling; fear? Disbelief? Confusion? Maybe even a mix of all three.

"Yeah." Spinel growled out, "And since you _don't remember_, it _has _to have been a _forced fusion!"_

The strange, contradicting emotions that Steven felt when Amethyst spoke were replaced with a red-hot feeling, made even stranger by the fact that sensation only went as far as his gem and stopped, while the rest of him froze.

Amethyst shrugged her shoulders, and as she spoke, the first confusion mix of emotions came back. "Eh. I don't care." Her eyes told a different story.

"Um." Steven piped up while those emotions were still new inside him, "What's a forced fusion?"

Immediately a strong pulse struck him, a feeling he recognized immediately. Both Amethyst and Spinel looked to him with equal looks of pity and matched the feeling Steven felt in his gut.

"It's when one gem… forces another to… fuse with them." Spinel said, and by the ways she paused between words, Steven knew she was choosing them very delicately. "Without that other gems… _consent."_

The next feeling Steven felt had nothing to do with his gem. It washed over him in a sickening flow of dread that creeped into every extremity and made everything around him seem to fade, to focus on the situation in front of him more acutely than ever.

"I can think of a word to liken to that…"

Steven knew Spinel knew what he was talking about, even without saying the word that he knew would leave a nasty taste in his mouth. She cast glances between both of her somber friends.

"It's like, the worst thing one gem can do to another."

Steven felt that feeling wash over him again like a stormy seat capsizing a boat. He shook his head as his mind struggled to the surface beyond those black, watery depths. "Pearl would never do anything like that; never."

Spinel seemed to face that exact same, mental capsizing as she stuck her hands in her pockets and looked to the sand as if it were the most interesting object in the word. "We know Pearl a lot better than you do."

"Cool it."

Steven flinched at Amethyst's voice; the only thing more unerving than Spinel being serious was _Amethyst _being serious.

"It's not like she hasn't done it before." Spinel muttered, and time seemed to freeze around them.

Steven could no longer hear the crashing of the waves or the cries of the nightbird. He couldn't hear the wind blowing or a dog barking in the distance. He could hear only the steady drumming beat of his heart echoing relentlessly in his ears until his own voice and foggy thoughts brought all the sound crashing down on him again.

"What do you mean?"

Spinel didn't answer the question, and neither did Amethyst, but their silence was more than enough.

"Hey, there they are!"

Steven and Amethyst turned to where Spinel was pointing, to see Pearl and Garnet approaching side-by-side, with the former looking like a scolded child and the latter looking like the mother who did the scolding.

"We're going after the lion."

"Don't hurt him!" Steven said immediately, the words escaping his mouth before he could even think of them. An imagine of that lovely pink beast appeared clearly in his mind.

"This isn't a battle mission." Pearl said resentfully, her eyes darting every which way except at Amethyst. "It's a reconnaissance one."

"We just have to make sure it isn't a threat to humans." Garnet said, and she took a knee so she could look at Steven directly, "That is all."

"And what if he is?" Steven asked shakily, "Are you gonna hurt him?"

"No." Garnet shook her head, "We'll just relocate him to where he can't hurt anyone. We wouldn't terminate a lion for simply being a lion."

"What's terminate mean?"

Garnet's reassured expression dropped for a fraction of a moment. "It means 'kill', Steven."

"Oh." The simple mention of the word gave Steven a pit in his stomach.

"But we would not do that." Garnet said quickly, then stood up, "Spinel, Pearl, and I are going to track down this lion to make sure it isn't a threat to itself or others, and we'll go from there."

Spinel's eyes became wider than they already were. "Pearl? On an _animal mission?_ You have _got _to be kidding me."

"Yeah." Steven agreed, "Pearl doesn't get along well with animals. Birds attack her every time she goes outside."

Pearl gave an indignant scoff. "No they don't!"

"Watch out for the owl."

Just as Garnet said that, Pearl ducked as an owl dove from the darkness, wings strong and silent, its claws scraping the air where seconds ago Pearl had been, before taking to the skies once more and fading into the stars.

"Pearl needs a little break from Amethyst," Garnet went on.

"Then why not leave Pearl _here _and take Amethyst with us?"

"I know you wouldn't prefer her to watch Steven."

"No!" Steven quickly shook his head, "Pearl's boring!"

Pearl gasped far too loud, "I am not!"

Everyone else, however, muttered their agreement at the accusation, Garnet included. Spinel turned to Amethyst, placing both her hands on Steven's shoulders.

"Get him inside," She shoved Steven toward Amethyst, "And get him warm!"

Amethyst gave a half-salute, and wrapped her other arm around Steven, "You can count on me, or whatever."

"Make sure he gets some sleep," Spinel went on, "And check on him every few minutes; he has a habit of rolling and I don't want him to fall out of bed."

"I got it!"

"Oh! And make sure he brushes his teeth _after _eating breakfast, otherwise he'll lose his appetite and his eating schedule will be all outta wack!" As Spinel lifted everything off, she held up one finger for each subject she spoke about. It was when she got to her ninth finger that she said, "And make sure you make his breakfast _before _yours, cause he actually needs it to live. And-"

"I got this, Spins!" Amethyst reached past Steven and put a hand on Spinel's shoulder. "Have I ever let you down?"

"Every day of my life…"

Steven flinched at the genuine tone which Spinel said it in, but then she laughed, and he laughed along, and then Amethyst was laughing too. But when Steven looked into Spinel's eyes, he stopped laughing, and frowned with the dark emotion he saw in there. Amethyst didn't seem to pick up on anything.

"Seriously Spins, I got this!" Amethyst pulled Steven close, "Mommy Amy in the house!"

Spinel smiled with true glee, and the dark emotion was gone as she gave Steven one final hug and ran over to join Garnet and Pearl.

* * *

The air around them was intense. Spinel walked at Garnet's right, and Pearl walked at her left. Neither seemed willing to talk to each other, or to be the first to engage the others in a conversation, so that task fell to Garnet.

"Spinel, tell me our first course of action."

Spinel pondered this louder than necessary before saying, "Well, what do we know about it?"

It's pink. "It's pink." (It has glowing eyes!) "Its eyes glow." (Oh, and it can walk on water!) We have seen it teleport as well. "It can walk on water, and it can teleport."

"And it probably has an aversion to Opal." Spinel added, then with a hasteful sound in her voice and a glare meant for Pearl, she said, "For obvious reasons."

"Keep the peace." Garnet said simply.

"Now that we know what we know, what we need to know is what we need to know, you know? So, what do we need to know?"

(What the fuck did she just say?) Peace. I got this. "We need to know whether or not this lion is a danger to humans."

"Of course it is!" Pearl shouted suddenly, "It's a lion!"

"Pearl." Pearl flinched, but it wasn't enough for her to remain silent.

"It's a threat! We have to destroy it immediately."

"Or destroy you immediately." Spinel's whisper was clearly not meant to be heard by either, but it was heard by both.

"Tame yourself, Spinel. We must focus."

Spinel rolled her eyes dramatically, but said nothing more.

"We have to figure out how this creature can do what it does." Garnet went on.

Pearl gave a baffled look. "Isn't it just a normal crystal animal?"

Garnet hummed softly. It doesn't appear to be a gem animal. It is far more than that. (Like what?) Why don't we ask the expert? "Spinel, tell us what we're up against."

"Hmm, I dunno. I don't think so. From what Steven told us, it seems remarkably tame. And crystal animals don't usually venture beyond their normal territories unless their master's nearby."

"Does this thing even have a master?" Pearl asked bitterly.

"Most crystal animals do, but like I said, this isn't a crystal animal. Do you know many gems that can stand on water, make portals, and is pink? I mean, the first crystal basilisks ate emerald shards, so it makes sense that they're shade of olive and lime and teal, and that they erupt into green flames when threatened. Same way the first crystal serpents ate citrine shards and became all orange and strong, and the crystal piranhas ate the shards of a lapis-"

"We get it!" Pearl interrupted, "it isn't a crystal animal. What is it, then?"

"My best guess? It's something along the lines of the crystal shrimp, except made by a different gem. Crystal shrimp are formed by ice though, so I'm quite sure who could have a lion out of pure physical matter…"

Pearl laughed, a laugh that made both her and the other two stop in place. "That would mean there was a gem, ya know, other than us, here on earth, and that is impossible!"

"The desert glass was brought by the gems before us." Spinel growled between her teeth, "So were the crystal shrimp, and every gem structure here on earth. The lion could have been brought over then too, a left over of the war."

"Well, we would have seen it by now!" Pearl argued.

"Not if it was hiding!"

Garnet held out a hand, and both fell silent. "Pearl," She turned to the white gem, "Spinel is the animal expert here, not us." Garnet shifted her visors and gave a slight hum. "We'll find the lion in the woods leading up to the mountain."

Pearl gasped, and held onto Garnet's arm. "Did you have a vision?"

Garnet stared at her, silent for a moment, before saying, "No. I have eyes." And pointing to a path through the treeline, with the paw prints of an undeniably large creature leading inside.

Spinel tilted her head. "I guess the lion can only teleport so far."

"Which is good for us." Garnet said, and then she started to walk toward the tracks, "We can track it right to its hiding spot."

"Unless it teleported again." Pearl added.

"Let's hope that isn't the case."

Lucky for them, it wasn't. They were able to follow the tracks through the dark forest, where it eventually veered off the trail and ventured deeper into the heart of the trees. Eventually, the path it took had a steep slope where the tracks disappeared, but all it took was a quick check from Garnet to find the tracks continued at the top. They went on like this to dawn, following tracks that seemed to appear and disappear at random, and occasionally almost losing the trail altogether, but they always found it in the end.

It lead them high up into the mountains, where fog hung heavy and hid any creature that wanted to hide. Even Garnet's visions seemed fuzzy and confusing in this fog, so she focused more on the present. Spinel fell behind when she caught sight of a birds nest, with either the mother or father eagle fluffing its feathers and cawing loudly at their approach. She would have stayed there for a long time watching the guardian if Garnet hadn't have pulled her away from the mesmerising sight.

When they came to a small crevice in the face of the mountain, with nothing but the darkness inside with the fog rolling in even thicker, Garnet focused her attention inside. She would go inside, and inside she would find the great beast sleeping. It would wake at her sudden approach, and roar a deafening roar in its own defense, sending her flying off the mountain. Garnet shook her head.

"It's inside." Garnet said in the present. "Spinel, tell us what to do."

Spinel took the lead, approaching the crevice with such a slow caution and foresight that Garnet could almost believe she had future vision herself. Garnet saw her approaching the creature, but not too close, and waiting for it to wake. She watched patiently as the same thing transpired in real time.

"We should wait." Spinel said, "It's sleeping right now."

"Then wake it up." Pearl insisted.

Spinel tapped her foot. "No. If you want to, be my guest. I'll happily watch you get shattered and blown to bits by a full-grown male lion."

Pearl crossed her arms. "I could handle it."

Spinel gave a slight bow and motioned toward the crevice. "Be my guest."

"Maybe I will."

Pearl stuck up her nose and proudly strutted past the pink gem; Spinel had a dumb, malicious grin on her face. Garnet didn't need to use her future vision to know just how wrong this would go.

"Pearl, don't."

Pearl didn't listen, and so Garnet walked as close to the crevice as she dared to look inside.

The pink lion was barely visible through the mist, a mighty paw folded over its muzzle and its eyes shut as deep, guttural snores sounded all around him. Behind the large frame, a tail flicked left, then right, and then left again. Pearl's approach, not exactly stealthy, alerted the creature and it slowly lifted its head to gaze at the approaching intruder. Pearl froze in place.

The lion didn't seem at all threatened by her presence. It took its time, licking a forepaw thoroughly with eyes slitted. It slowly worked its claws in and out, cleaning them in turn, but its tired gaze never left Pearl.

"Pearl." Garnet called in a quiet whisper, "Get back out here."

Pearl took another step forward and, in a swift motion, the predator was suddenly to its feet, and Pearl took the hint and stepped back. The lion shook out its heavy mane, and dew droplets dislodged themselves and scattered across the cave. Then it sat back on its haunches and tilted its head, assessing Pearl's next move.

"I'm tired of this."

Pearl withdrew her spear in a blaze of light, and Garnet could see the pupils of the lion contracted in response. As Pearl took a few more steps toward the kingly creature, it's claws came out and began to word into the stone, carving effortlessly into its surface. It pulled back it's lips in an almost smile.

"Pearl." This time it was Spinel, and her voice wavered, "Get away from him."

Pearl didn't listen. "Nice kitty." Her spear glistened, "Just stay still."

The lion didn't listen.

It lunged forward, swiping a mighty paw and knocking Pearl off her feet and to the stone below. Garnet summoned her gauntlets, but Spinel made no effort to summon her mallet.

"Don't move!" She called to the stricken gem, "Play dead."

Pearl tried to climb to her feet, and the lion knocked her down again and again. Eventually, it latched it jaws around her legs, jaws so powerful they could have snapped it were she human. Instead of making such an attempt, the lion shook his head and sent the pearl flying toward the entrance. It then planted its feet hard in the ground, bracing itself before blinking and revealing eyes as bright as suns.

From deep inside it came a roar; a roar so powerful, it shook the very air around them and dissipated the mist into nothing. A sonic roar powerful enough to lift Pearl off her feet and send her flying off the mountain, yet without shifting Garnet or Spinel from where they stood. The roar died out, and the winds with it. The mist returned heavier than before, and the lion faded out of sight.

* * *

Steven would never grow used to the alarm clock.

No matter how many years it had been since he'd set that alarm for the exact same time every morning, the sound was just as jarring as it had been the first day, startling him out of his dream and into reality. He rolled over and, as usual, the alarm clock read 6:40. He wanted nothing more than to give into the welcoming depths of sleep, but knew better. Around this time, Spinel would usually have breakfast ready, but then he saw the empty kitchen remembered that Spinel wasn't there, and the empty pit in his stomach only seemed to grow.

He found Amethyst right where he had left her the night before, passed out on the couch with her mouth open and her body in tangles around the blanket Steven had covered her with.

"Amethyst." Steven gently nudged her shoulder, "Amethyst!"

Amethyst didn't stir, and only seemed to snore louder.

"Amethyst, you have to make me breakfast!"

It seemed he pulled Amethyst's arm a little too hard, and the purple woman rolled with the force, and both she and Steven fell to the ground. Amethyst still didn't react to the impact, but Steven found his head spinning before he shook off the shock and focused his eyes again. His stomach gave a painful growl and cramped. Steven frowned.

"Seems poor little Steven has to make his own food."

He looked through the empty fridge, and then through the equally empty cabinets; he and his dad hadn't made much money that previous Sunday, and they wouldn't have more until the following one. When Steven finally found something, a bag of cereal (though it was mostly just crumbled dust) he rejoiced at the discovery and poured what remained into a bowl.

"Yo, give me some too!"

Steven nearly dropped the milk as Amethyst appeared suddenly at his side, deep blue eyes starry and holding a purple bowl in her hands. Steven picked up his bowl, frowned sightly as the small amount of flakes inside, then dumped a little more than half into Amethyst's bowl. He distributed the milk, then placed the jug back in the barren fridge.

Breakfast was gone far too fast, for both of them.

"This all you got?" Amethyst asked, staring at the empty bowl as if will alone would make it fill back up.

Steven dug his heel into the ground. "Spinel usually goes out to get breakfast from Fryman's…"

Amethyst shrugged, dropped her bowl carelessly to the ground, and stretched her arms out behind her. "Eh. Got any money?"

Steven shook his head.

Amethyst frowned, then dashed back over to the couch and laid right back down under the blanket, arms behind her head and legs crossed. "Wake me when it's lunch time, will ya?"

"Yeah. Sure."

* * *

"There."

Garnet spotted the faintest glimmer among the brown of the fallen leaves. Garnet carefully brushed the leaves aside, and found the flawless white gemstone resting, almost dormant, with the faintest glimmer of white to show the life within.

"Is she cracked?" Spinel asked.

Garnet shook her head. "No. She is fine, but she has retreated into her gem. It appears her form has taken the brunt of the impact," She shifted Pearl's gemstone around in her hand as if it were the most delicate thing in the world.

"I told her not to…" Spinel said softly.

"I know." Garnet comforted, "Pearl wasn't thinking straight. Perhaps this moment of recession shall do her well."

"She made him feel trapped and cornered…" Spinel went on, "So he lashed out."

Garnet thought back to the past and felt the slightest twinges of memory in both her gems. "That isn't a crime."

The white gemstone was engulfed in a violet hue as Garnet sent it safely into her right gem.

"The lion may still be in the area."

Spinel shook her head. "No, I think Pearl shook it off."

"I see…" Garnet said slowly, "And with Pearl poofed, and no sign where it could have gone…"

"Do you see us finding it?"

Garnet looked toward the future. "I see us returning home."

"Then home it is!"

* * *

The moment Steven opened the door, Amethyst was at attention. She ran to him much like a dog would, and began prying at the bags he held in his hands.

"Yo Steven, watcha got?"

Steven held the bags out of Amethyst's reach. "Nothing for you! Vidalia gave me this." Steven held the bags over his head as he made his way to the kitchen, with Amethyst following closely behind. "It's supposed to last until dad can get more groceries on Sunday!"

Steven began to unload the canned goods, one by one, making sure to put them out of Amethyst's reach. Vidalia had been kind enough to spare what little food she had for him, and he wasn't about to let Amethyst take it all.

"Aww, you're no fun." Amethyst pouted, but she laughed as she did. In the second second, she was gone, and when Steven turned to search for her he found her resting on his bed, looking comfortable than ever as she turned on the TV. "Any word from the others?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Figures."

Amethyst flicked off the television, and rolled off the bed without a single thought of self preservation, and she didn't stop there. She kept on rolling until she fell off the end of the lost and tumbled down to the couch below, landing with a perfectly calculated pose.

"Hey Steven, you wanna see something cool."

"Sure." He didn't have anything better to do.

Amethyst struggled off the couch and held out both hands "Stay here!" She sped off as fast as her dash would allow, darting through the temple door that opened in her presence and closed in her absence. Ir didn't take long for it to open again, and for her to reappear clutching a familiar red pillow emblazoned with an equally familiar green gem.

"Isn't that the Desert Glass?"

"Uh huh! I told Pearl and Garnet I bubbled it; I lied."

Steven couldn't help but feel the tension in the air around the artifact, a tense feeling not even Amethyst's unrivaled joy could mask.

"Maybe you should bubble it, Steven."

For a fraction of a moment, the same feeling in the air sank through and infected Amethyst. "Yeah, sure, I guess I could do that." Then she was back to her normal self, "Or we could build the words best sand castle!"

"I think Garnet and Pearl would like that very much…"

"Yeah." Amethyst admitted, "But imagine how fun it'll be!"

"But… Pearl said to bubble it…"

"Pearl says a lotta things. Besides, you heard Garnet." Amethyst waved the pillow around, "I'm in full control!"

Steven thought about it. He remembered the great structures it had built in the desert; large pillars stretching into the heavens with no clear instruction, just wild thoughts and ideas. "It… would be pretty cool I guess."

"Yeah it would!" Amethyst gave Steven a harsh bump on the shoulder.

Steven laughed, and rubbed where Amethyst had hit. "Ow. That hurt."

"Come on!" Amethyst seized Steven by the sleeve of his shirt, "Our castle awaits!"

* * *

Spinel and Garnet were nearly home when they saw it on the beach. Four towers in each corner, expertly constructed down to the finest detail, with chiseled walls connecting them and a moat surrounding the outside.

"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Garnet adjusted her visors. "It is."

"Of course it is."

* * *

Steven Universe looked out over his kingdom by the sea with a sigh. Life truly couldn't get better than this. Wind in his hair, the ocean before him, and sand literally everywhere as far as he could see. Down near the bottom, the water in his moat glistened with life.

"Any signs of danger, Sir Crocadilian?"

"_Nein_!" Barked his German crocodile guard, "A_lles ist klar, Konig Universum_!"

"I have no idea what you just said!" Steven held out his sword proudly, "Onward, Sir Crocadiliain! We ride at dawn!"

"_Morgendammerung ist die beste Reisezeit!_"

Steven broke character. "How do you know German again?"

Sir Crocadilian, aka Amethyst, broke character as well, "I've been around for five thousand years dude, you pick things up in that time."

"Oh."

"_STEVEN QUARTZ UNIVERSE_!"

"Oh oh." Said Sir Crocadilian, disappearing under the waves of his (or her?) moat.

"No, don't leave me!" She had already disappeared, leaving Steven alone on top of the tower with two very angry looking gems at the bottom.

"Hi Garnet, hi Spinel. Um. Where's Pearl?"

Spinel huffed. "Young man, how did you build this?"

"Amethyst did." Steven admitted, "She didn't bubble the pillow."

"Ya bit snitch!" Amethyst had appeared farther down the moat, back to her old self and floating in the water.

"Amethyst." Garnet pointed right in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Amethyst climbed out of the water.

"And you, young man, get down here!" Spinel ordered.

"Yes Spinny." Steven ducked back into the sand fortress as he made his way down the three flights of steps that lead to the bottom. Once he was on the bottom floor, where the precious Desert Glass rested on a pedestal of its own creation, Steven looked through one of the windows just in time to see Amethyst finally reaching Garnet near the edge of the beach. The moment her feet left the sand, Steven was startled by a sudden rumbling growl and a voice other than his own hissing in his head.

_No more orders. Must build._

* * *

Before Garnet even had a chance to scold Amethyst for her actions, a scream silenced the argument that was about to take place, as the sand took on a life of its own and towers began to take form. Building, collapsing, duplicating in numbers. Sucking up every last grain of sand on the beach.

"STEVEN!" Two cries in the same, heart-wrenching fear.

"Whoops."

"Amethyst!" Spinel was suddenly upon the purple gem, lifting her up high so their eyes could meet, "Get back in there and tell it to stop!"

"No!" Both looked to Garnet. "Steven's somewhere in there, and if Amethyst takes down the wrong tower…" She didn't need to finish.

"Do you see something? Anything?"

Garnet could sense the imminent break down in the form of the pink gem, and knew that if she strianed herself much more she would dissipate her form. But, no matter how many times she looked into the future of Steven, it was all the same.

"It could be on any one of those towers, or inside ever one of them! There is no scenario more likely than the other." She looked again, just to make sure. "The best thing we can do is wait for something else."

"Something else!?" Spinel was nearly dissipation; tears came to her eyes and they danced around in a mess of panicked spirals, "What something else?!"

* * *

Steven couldn't see. He could hardly breath. There was a storm of sand all around him, choking the breath from his body and blocking both sky and sea and land from view. All there was was sand, and it was everywhere.

_Build. Must build._

Steven begged it to stop.

_Have to build. Must build. Must build._

Steven's words were lost in the wind.

_Build. Just build. Build of the sand, wait for commands._

Steven tried again.

_What? What was that? No, I don't think I can._

Why not?

_I have to build._

Why?

_I have to build; I was told to build. I must build._

No you don't. You don't have to build anymore.

_I don't?_

No. You can stop now. It's okay.

_Truly?_

Yes.

_Okay. I'll stop now._

The winds ceased. The storms stopped. The sand beneath Steven's feet crumbled without the support of the Desert Glass's power, and Steven was falling. There was nothing separating him from the hard, hot mound of sand below, but when he hit something, it felt more like a cloud. Soft, firm yet gentle, almost like a cloud. A pink cloud.

"Lion!"

The lion drifted soundlessly through the air, light as a feather. Secure and stable and safe. Steven clung tightly to its tangle of hair, the same, coarse texture as his own, and as they neared the ground, he allowed himself to sink deeper into the pure bliss of the situation.

* * *

There was nothing.

And then there was everything. Light, taking form. Memories flooding back. The physical world parting its barrier to allow the being of pure light to return to its realm with a slight pop, as for where there was nothing there was suddenly something, so quick it seemed almost surreal. She started in the air, and as memories and thoughts came flooding back into existence, so too, did she.

"Oh." Said the pearl, "That's much better."

She looked over her new self; teal top, baby blue sweater wrapped around her waist. Orange shorts, blue shoes, and long pink socks.

Then she was being hugged tightly around the waist by two very familiar arms. She put a hand on Steven's head, delicately running her hands through his black curls.

"Oh! Miss me much?"

"Oh!" Steven suddenly stood back, "I had this whole thing planned out for when you came back! Wait here!"

Pearl did as she was told, but as she waited she took the chance to look around. Trash littered the ground wherever she looked; so did pillows and blankets and dirty clothes, and claw marks littering the corners of the walls.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, "What happened to you room?" Then her eyes shifted up to Steven's bed and she nearly disappeared again as she saw what rested there. "And what is that?!"

"It's a lion." Garnet said simply, "And before you ask, yes, it is tame."

"Are we seriously gonna let him keep that thing?"

Garnet shrugged. "We kept Amethyst."

Then Steven returned, a pot in one hand and a spoon in the other, banging them together in a rhythmic motion. His shirt, no longer on his top half, was instead wrapped around his forehead in a tight knot.

"Steven, what are you-"

"Pearl's back, Pearl's back, Pearl's back!"

Spinel joined in, a scarf tied around her forehead, and instead of a pot and a spoon, she had a pan and a spatula.

"You too?"

"Pearl's back, Pearl's back, Pearl's back!" Spinel and Steven chanted as one.

"I can't leave you guys alone for a second, can I?"

Garnet looked at her. "No, you can't."


	10. More to love

Every Sunday, Steven would go down to the boardwalk with his father, and this Sunday was no different. Not even Spinel joined them on this weekly escapade; just a father and a son bonding over their mutual love of music. Both with matching, star-spangled shirts; Steven with his normal red-and-yellow and his father with a black-and-yellow one, identical to his son's in everything but color.

While Greg played a guitar, Steven only played a ukulele; his dad had always said he was too small for it, the guitar was nearly as big as he was, and eventually he'd grow into it, but that was three years ago and Steven hadn't grown an inch since then. His dad said that was a good thing, and that he could keep wearing the same shirts and not have to buy new ones, and Steven couldn't agree more. When he did finally grow, however, his dad agreed to buy him whatever shirts he wanted under twenty dollars, and that was a dream that Steven kept in the back of his mind, hoping and wondering about what kind of shirts he'd buy with all that money. Maybe this year would _finally _be the one where he grew, but if it wasn't then that was okay too. He still had Halloween to look forward to, and even though it was more than two months away, he was already beginning to think about his costume.

Last year he'd been an aware wolf (a wolf with a degree is science and economics) and the year before that he had done a couples costume as Beauty and the Beast with Amethyst and Spinel (he had been Belle, and Amethyst had shape-shifted into the beast and amazed onlookers. Spinel wore a homemade candlestick costume with actual fire, courtesy of Garnet). He still had that dress packed away in his closet if he ever needed to use it. This year, he was thinking of going as a sumo-wrestler, but he still had a while to decide for certain.

All these thoughts went through his mind as he strummed the strings of his ukulele with perfect pitch, as his dad would always say, and sung in the same fashion. His voice and his father's voice mixing together in the same melodic tune as they sang a song of his father's own making.

"_I know I'm not that tall, I know I'm not that smart, but let me drive my van into your heart!_"

Even if they hadn't been playing along with their instruments, Steven was sure he'd still be able to hear the same notes playing in his own mind.

"_Let me drive my van into your heart! I know I'm not that rich, I'm trying to find my start, but let me drive my van into your heart. Let me drive my van into your heart!_"

Steven began to sway to the music, as his father did the same, and he could have closed his eyes and accepted the blissful bonding if he hadn't seen a man approaching the singing duo with a curious look in his eye that inspired Steven to put on his best acting face.

"_And if we look out of place, well baby, that's okay. I'll drive us into outer space where we can't hear what people say!"_

The stranger nodded along to the music, and began to reach into his pocket.

"_I know I don't have a plan, I'm working on that part, at least I have a van, so let me drive my van into your heart!"_

As they finished up the final verses of the song, the man pulled a crumpled bill out of his pocket and dropped it into the guitar case in front of them before sticking his hands back into his pockets and walking off without another word.

Steven gasped. And then he frowned.

"Aw! A coupon! No fair!" Steven pouted and sat back, crossing his arms.

"Now hold on a second," His dad said, picking up the tattered paper and unfolding it with delicate hands, "Wait. No. It's nothing good."

Steven squinted his eyes to get a good look at it. "What? That's a coupon for a free cheese stick at Funland. They don't even sell those anymore!"

Greg tossed the coupon over his shoulder and picked up his guitar. "Well, back to singing I guess. How about we do Comet next?"

Steven gasped again. "That's the one you were singing when you met mom!"

"You bet your buns it was! So how about it, Stew-ball?"

Steven nodded as fast as his head would allow, which wasn't very. He grabbed his ukulele, and the duo immediately began to play the next song.

"_Some say I have no direction. That I'm a lightspeed distraction. But that's a knee jerk reaction. Still this is the final frontier, everything is so clear. To my destiny I steer-"_

"Hey."

Steven and Greg stopped suddenly at the interruption. They came to face three fancy-looking boys dressed in fancy-looking clothing; the one on the left was the tallest of them, pale faced and light haired with blue eyes and a face full of freckles; the one on the right was the shortest, but still much taller than Steven, with a pudgy, equally freckled face and deep brown eyes; the one in the middle was dark-skinned and dark-haired, yet his eyes were a deep shade of forest green that didn't match in the slightest.

"Hey." Said the leader.

"Hello." The other two echoed in turn.

"Hello!" Steven waved, and the other boys stepped back at his enthusiasm, "I'm Steven! Steven Universe!"

The boys snickered, and then their snickers turned into uncontainable laughter. Soon, Steven got so caught up in their laughter that he began to laugh too.

"I'm Mason Maknamara." The middle one said, "This is Rubin Ranches," He nodded to the tall blonde one, "And Haider Tanaway." He nodded to the short ginger one.

"I don't recognize the names." Steven said after a pause for thought, "Are you new in town? I can show you around!"

This resulted in another snicker about another joke Steven didn't understand. "We're just visiting."

"That's cool." Steven said.

The three nodded as one. "That's a cool guitar you have there…" Mason said, and more sniggers.

Steven looked down at his instrument. "Oh, no, this isn't a guitar!" He responded, "It's a ukulele; I'm not big enough for a guitar yet."

This time, they didn't even try to hide their laughter, and Steven's heart fell. "What's so funny?"

The three whispered something Steven couldn't quite hear.

"Hey, listen." Greg said, and Steven flinched at the cautious tone, "If you give us some money, we can play you a song. We can do pretty much anything."

"Yeah!" Steven agreed, "My dad's _super _good, and I'm super good in training!"

"Maybe another time." Mason said coolly as his friends laughed behind him. "What are you uh, doing out here, _Steven Universe?" _

More laughter.

"We're just getting some money for the week." Steven explained patiently.

"I see, I see." Mason nodded slowly, then glanced back at Haider and Rubin. "Wanna come with us to the arcade, maybe show us around? Like you said."

"Um." Steven looked from his new friends to his dad, "I'm supposed to play with dad all day. We always do."

Greg gave an absent wave. "No, it's fine, it's fine. Go on and have fun."

"Okay."

Steven gave his dad a hug, careful not to dig the ukulele into his back, and Greg returned the hug with a gentle grip. When they separated, Greg took Steven's ukulele from him and carefully placed it back in its case.

"I'll keep this safe until you get back." Greg said, and then leaning in closer, said, "Call if you need anything."

"Okay, thanks dad!"

Steven waved one last time before he ran off to the arcade with his new friends.

First, Steven showed the new boys how to charge their cards by placing it in the machine, and then adding money (Steven only put three dollars, but Mason, Haider, and Rubin had way more). He could think of no game better to show them than the ski ball ramp.

"First you scan your card," Steven said as he did just that, listening for the audible beep, followed by the steady drumming as five hard, clay balls rolled down the ramp, "Then you grab a ball and you just kinda… throw it."

He followed this up with an example, and felt a small heat rise in his cheeks as he missed every hole.

"Except, you know, you try to aim it _at _the hole, haha." He grabbed another ball and turned back to face Mason, "This is my favorite game; Amethyst's too! Here, you try!"

Mason took the ball, flipped it over in his hand, then took Steven's place in front of the ramp. He lined up his throw, tossed the clay ball, and got a bullseye right into the center hole, resulting in a cheerful ding at his success. He turned grabbed the tickets he had earned, turned back to Steven and flashed a grin.

"That was awesome!" Steven explained, "On your first try! Wow!"

Rubin stepped up next, lining the shot up just as Mason had and getting the exact same luck.

"Woah! Two in a row!"

Now all expectant eyes were on Haider as he took the fourth ball, repeated the action, and got the same result.

"Three!" Steven threw his hands up in the air, and the moment Haider was out of the way, he took his place and the final ball. He tried to line it up just as they had, sticking out his tongue and focusing on the winning hole. He aimed, fired, and missed. "Oh man!"

Mason came up behind him suddenly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. How about you show us some _other _cool games, hmm?"

Steven quickly got over his disappointment. "Oh! Sure!"

For the next ten minutes, he took the group through each of his favorite games; the candy claw machine where everyone was a winner, the water shooter game where they had to aim for the target, and even the air-hockey table. In every game he showed them, they were immediately better at it than he was, and as much as he tried not to get discouraged, it was hard not to. It didn't take long for his card to run out of play time.

"Oh." Steven said after a few attempts to scan his card beeped red, "I can't play anymore. Maybe I could use one of your cards?"

He looked hopefully to Mason, Rubin, and Haider, but none of them had the expression he had been hoping to find. Instead, all three had very similar expressions.

"Why can't you just _buy _more time?" Mason asked.

"I can't, that was the last of my money." Steven explained.

"What about all that money your dad made on the boardwalk?" Haider inquired.

"Oh, no, that has to go to groceries for the week."

"Does you dad like, not have a job?" Rubin sneered.

"Oh no, he has a job! He works at the car wash."

More laughter that Steven tried his best to ignore.

"But all the money he gets there has to go toward gas and bills and stuff. But he does give me a few dollars each week for myself!"

Even more laughter that seemed to pinch Steven's heart. He'd heard lots of different types of laughter; the laughter that came from hearing a funny joke, and the laughter that came from watching someone else laugh. The laughter that came from someone falling, or from people having fun, or from friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. Laughter when someone stuttered over their own words, and laughter when there was truly nothing to be laughing about, but everything just seemed so funny. But this laughter was different. It didn't make him feel happy in the slightest, and in fact it did the exact opposite. He felt sick.

"Hey Steven." Rubin said, and Steven broke from his thoughts just long enough to listen, "If you're so _poor, _how are you fat?"

Steven looked down at his stomach. "Um." His hands explored until they eventually met each other and began to shift in the others grasp. "Both my parents are pretty big. I guess…" He cast a look up toward Haider, who had stepped forward with a question of his own to ask.

"I saw your dad in a van, and my dad said he lived there, is that true?"

Steven nodded. "Uh huh."

"So that means _you _live in a van."

More of that icky-feeling laughter.

"No I don't." Steven said, and he could feel the sick feeling in his stomach begin to spread, "I live in the beach house with my other family."

"_Other family?"_

Steven struggled to think of an explanation. "Um. My moms side of the family…" When Steven could no longer handle the dirty glares burning into him, he said, "Can we go back to playing now?"

"How we gonna play if _you're _too poor to buy time?" Mason asked, and Steven only shrunk more.

"And how old are you?" Haider hissed, "You look two and ten at the _same time."_

"I'm thirteen." Steven answered, and when the only response was the same one he had grown used to (that sickening laughter) he said firmly, "I'm gonna go get my prizes now."

He quickly left the situation and made his way up to the counter where offered his signature, cheerful greeting at Steven was too sad to truly appreciate. He handed over his tickets, counted it, and then he reported the number to Steven. _115 tickets… _In the end, he settled for a magenta finger puppet and a blue airhead, yet when Smiley gave them to him and he turned around, he was filled with nothing but dread when he realized he'd have to face Mason once again.

"Do you really think you need any more sugar?" Mason said, intercepting Steven before he could safely make it to the exit.

"I like airheads…" Was all Steven said before hurrying past and back out into the chilling air.

"Hey Stew-ball!" Greg greeted at his sons approach, "Look! I got a five while you were gone!"

Greg victoriously waved the bill in the air.

"Cool."

Steven slumped down beside him and opened the airhead, though he thought twice before eating it anyway, despite Mason's stinging words echoing in his ears. He placed his brand new finger puppet on his pointer finger and looked closely at the happy, smiling face.

"What's wrong, Stew-ball?" Greg leaned down close to Steven, "You okay?"

Steven only nodded.

"Are you sure?" Greg prodded, "Is there something on your mind?"

"Dad, are we poor?"

Greg's eyes grew wide, and his mouth dropped open, and though a quick shake of his head removed his expression, that dark feeling still loomed all around him.

"That depends on what you mean, son. There's different kinds of rich, and different kinds of poor."

"Are we the kinda poor that can't afford a lot of things?"

"Yes…" Greg answered after a long period of hesitation, "But we're the kind of rich that have lives filled with love! You have the gems, and I have you. We both have a roof over our heads, and we both have food, even if it isn't much food."

"Oh."

Steven leaned his head into his father's side, and Greg wrapped his arm around Steven's small body.

"And why am I so small?"

Greg laughed; not the type that made Steven feel bad, but the kind that made his heart flutter and made him want to laugh along. "You're not small!" Greg ruffled his sons hair, "You're fun sized! Besides, you're not done growing!"

"When will I be?" Steven asked.

"Well, I stopped growing at 16." Greg answered, "But then again, you're part gem, so who knows? Maybe you'll never stop growing, and by the time you're thirty, you'll be a giant man! Like, 10 feet tall!"

"Really?"

"Er." Greg shrunk, "Maybe not quite that tall. I mean, you mom was 8 feet, so you're bound to get some of that, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Look, it's almost time for the morning rush!" Greg pulled Steven's ukulele from its case and put it in his hands. "How about we play that song now? It's bound to get some attention!"

"Yeah!" Steven agreed.

* * *

That night at dinner, when Steven was presented with a meal of potatoes, chicken, and biscuits, he started thinking about what those kids had said, and he suddenly didn't want to eat.

* * *

The very next day, Steven was doing a puzzle with Spinel when there was a knock at the door.

"Where's your lion?" Spinel whispered.

"He's out hunting." Steven answered just as quietly.

"Good."

Steven sat up a little straighter to watch as Spinel went to answer the door, and he started to think of everything that could be on the other side. Connie, maybe, but it was a school day and barely noon (Steven was supposed to be practicing some math, since his dad insisted he get a human education too, but he and Spinel had quickly grown bored of that). Maybe it was his dad, coming to make sure Steven was actually learning, and they were about to be caught red-handed. Maybe it was Vidalia, asking them to watch Onion, or Peedee coming to play since he didn't go to school either. When Spinel opened the door, it was none of the above.

"Hello!" Spinel greeted.

"Hi ma'am!" Mason said in a voice far too sweet to not be condescending, "Is Steven home?"

"Sure is!" Spinel turned back to Steven and beckoned him forward. Steven meekly obeyed.

Steven found himself hiding behind Spinel, holding onto her arm and hiding his face in her sleeve.

"Hey." He said simply.

"Hello Steven!" Mason said in that condescending tone, "Wanna come out and play again?"

"Um. Who are you?" Spinel asked, and for a moment, she pulled her arm free and pushed Steven behind her, not enough to be noticeable by anyone else, but enough for him.

"I'm Mason, these are my friends. We met Steven yesterday on the boardwalk!"

"Yeah!" Haider agreed, "We went to the arcade!"

"It was fun." Rubin said last, "Wasn't it, Steven?"

"Uh. Yeah. Fun. I'd like to play again, I guess, but…" Steven struggled to find a reason, any reason to avoid Mason's first question, "I… uh… don't have any money yet. Yeah. Sorry."

"Oh!" Spinel exclaimed squeakily, "I'll go check my purse!"

She turned and winked at Steven before leaving him to skip off out of view; at least, out of the view of the three boys on the porch. Their eyes followed her as she disappeared into the kitchen, and then only Steven could see as she reached into her gem and, after searching for a few minutes, came out with a few wrinkled bills. She returned.

"Good news! I have some money!"

"Hooray…"

Spinel placed the bills in his hands with a bright smile, but that smile was quick to fade when it was met with the frown of Steven.

"Steven?" She said softly, tilting her head not unlike a dog, "Do you… want to go?"

"Of course!" Steven said, but there was no meaning in his words, "I love the arcade but…" Steven thought quickly, "Can you come too?"

Mason answered before Spinel had the chance to, "What"? No, no. We can't have an adult with us! That's lame!"

The other two muttered their agreement.

Spinel huffed. "Ain't nothing lame about me!"

"Shouldn't he hang out with kids his own age?" Haider asked.

"Yeah!" Rubin agreed, "We're just going to the arcade, we can walk there!"

"C'mon, Steven, we're burning daylight!"

Steven looked at Mason. Then he looked at Rubin, and then at Haider. His heart ached, and his stomach churned, but no matter how hard he thought he couldn't think of an excuse. "Okay…"

* * *

The next few days were no different.

Every day, they would come to his house, and every day they would invite him out to play. They always said they would pay for him, but would take it back last minute and make him pay for all of them with the money he didn't have. On more than one occasion, he'd have to go begging to his dad for money, just so they would leave him alone.

The remarks they made only got worse, and they always seemed so nice. Until they weren't. Until they said words that made him feel icky, and made him not want to eat, though he still did whenever Spinel was watching him. If he could get away with it, he wouldn't. Today was the same; they came to get him, Spinel bade him farewell, and they made their way toward the arcade. At least, that's where Steven thought they were heading, until they veered off the usual path to the Beach City Woods.

"Where are you going?" Steven asked, "The arcade is that way." He pointed off toward the boardwalk.

Mason rolled his eyes. "We aren't going to the arcade."

"But you said-"

"Forget what I said!" Mason interrupted, "Just follow us."

Steven didn't move. It was Haider first who noticed this, and then gave Mason a nudge.

"What are you waiting for, fatty?"

"We told Spinel we were going to the arcade…" Steven muttered, "So let's just go to the arcade…"

Spinel had always told him, day after day, to never go anywhere without telling her. If something happened, if he got hurt or lost, she needed to know where to search for him.

Mason was growing impatient. "Just come on! What are you? Chicken?"

"No." Steven hung his head, "I'm human mostly…"

Mason gave a blank stare, then his eyes narrowed and he stopped over toward Steven with such an intense rage that Steven felt the heat of his own rising.

Steven thought about running, but before he could give it so much as a second thought, Mason had him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. Steven felt the cold air on his stomach, tickling his gem, and he felt one of the sandals on his feet slip off.

"Listen here…" That's all Mason could get out before his eyes glanced down toward the strange pink gleam and widened at the sight of the rose quartz in the place where a normal human's belly button would be.

Mason dropped him.

Steven fell to the floor with a hard thump that knocked the breath out of him.

"What is that?"

Steven was quick to cover his stomach. But the damage had already been done.

"I was born with it!" He protested, "I got it from my mom."

Nobody moved.

"The freak's even more freakish that we thought!"

Haider and Rubin laughed along, but the tension in the air didn't go away. Haider hoisted Steven to his feet, and just when Steven was about to thank him, Rubin gave him a harsh shove to the back which sent him flying forward onto the path, and Mason stuck out his legs, causing Steven to trip and fall into the earth.

"This is getting real boring Steven." Mason taunted, "Get up so we can get going."

Steven struggled onto all fours, and was met with a harsh jab in between his shoulder blades, sending him right back down.

"Come on Steven!"

Steven tried again and was met with the same hostility. A few more attempts later, and Mason finally let him get back to his feet, only to kick Steven hard behind his knee and send him falling again. This went on for the same amount of time before they grew bored of it, and only shoved him hard enough to make him stumble.

"Lead the way, gem freak."

* * *

The way through the forest was surprisingly lit. The few leaves that still clung to their life-giving trees made the sun scatter the forest floor in a bright array of colors that bounced off the fallen leaves and reflected all around them. While Steven took care not to step on the few flowers on the trail and the occasional critter that hopped through the trail, the three behind him took no such precautions. They were loud, obnoxious, and would send birds flying out of their trees at their approach.

After running into what felt like every cobweb, thorn, and bramble in the forest, Steven suddenly heard the thumping of music that grew steadily louder with every couple feet he approached, until the trees finally cleared and revealed an old house. It wasn't so old that nature had started to reclaim it, but it was far from new. Made of wood, with a stone foundation, and flashing lights inside that pulsed in a timed beat tuned into the music. Inside and out, he could see people; teens, mostly, but a few older adults seemed to be hanging out among the crowds.

"What is this place?" Steven asked, looking back at the ones who had forced him to go.

"What, never been to a party before?" Mason folded his arms behind his back and walked close to Steven. Steven tensed up.

"N...not really. I've been to a few birthday parties…"

"Oh, this is nothing like a birthday party…"

Steven got a sharp shove from behind, from either Haider or Rubin, and it sent him stumbling past the small crowd of teenagers gathered at the doorway, and into the dark chaos within.

The noise struck him immediately. Excitement contradicting senses of indifference. Lighthearted joy flooding out the faintest traces of grief, and something else hung over everything like a stain clinging to every one of the; strong and powerful, like pure heat and desire. Sounds and smells and lights and blackness, blurring and mixing and filling the air with toxic fumes that made the world spin. Steven grabbed his head as the cacophony of shouts and laughs and talking and music faded into a distant, whining tone, and his own heartbeat seemed to overpower everything.

Then he was being pulled away, not by unkind, cruel hands, but the hands of some unknown rescuer. Steven felt skinny arms, a bony body, and felt that same rescuer pull him away from the crowd, away from the chaos and the droning hum of emotions and noise. Steven's heartbeat slowly began to fade, and everything around him seemed to return to normal. There was laughter, and there were many groups talking in their own indistinguishable conversations. Therewas dancing, and there was drinking, and there was talking, and there was Lars.

Lars and Sadie both.

The latter was holding a red cup and wore an expression of concern, and while the former had a similar expression, it was more baffled than anything.

"Steven?" Sadie said, barely able to be heard over the loud roar around them, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't wanna be here…" Steven admitted, and he found himself looking around, "I just kinda… ended up here."

The more he looked around, the more faces he recognized in the previously chaotic crowd: Sourcream and Buck Dewey were together, standing on a slightly raised pedestal controlling the music and having the time of their lives; the former had a girl hanging over his shoulder, but showed no attention to her and all the attention towards the music. He saw Jenny and Kiki among other girls, chatting and drinking and having a good time with whatever they were talking about. There was Jamie, speaking loud and proud as ever, with a totally dumbstruck girl listening to him with starstruck eyes. More and more people he recognized from Beach City seemed to materialize all around him.

"Do you need a ride home?" Sadie asked patiently, "This ain't a place for a kid."

"You drove out here?"

"Uh. Well, Lars did."

The older teen looked away with a blush.

"But I'm sure he'll drive you back! Won't you Lars?"

Before Lars could respond, Steven recognized more people as they approached him, but he didn't welcome them.

"Oh, hello." Sadie greeted politely. "Are you Steven's friends?"

"Yes." Mason said, "Come on, Steven, this party's just starting!"

Steven couldn't protest. They already had him by the arm, pulling him back into the heat of the crowd and the heat of those emotions. In the moment, he did the only thing he could think to do, and he latched onto Mason's arm, being dragged through the crowd like a dog on a lead until something caused the older boy to stop.

"I don't like it here." Steven said; his own voice seemed foreign among everything; the voices, the sounds, the emotions. "Can we go now?"

Mason seemed to consider it, to really consider it, but then all of that went away. "Sure. You can go!"

Then Steven was falling blindly through the crowd, grasping for any purchase. Anything at all to stop what he knew was going to happen, but he found nothing more than the strangers around him and the suffocating air, and then his prediction came true as he slammed into a much larger, much older stranger. Then the stranger fell into another stranger, and that stranger into someone else, until the chain eventually ended with the young girl who had been hanging drunkenly over Sourcream fell into the speaker, and with a final loud BOOM, everything was cast into silence.

It was strange without the music, and soon they were without the talking too as everyone tried to figure out what happened. Then the chatter started up again, but in a hushed array of accusing whispers as all eyes were on Steven, and more than a few in the crowd called out his name.

"Nice going." Steven recognized Rubin's voice.

"What's your problem, freak?" That voice belonged to Haider.

Steven hardly heard them. There were eyes on him, blue, green, brown, and gray. Angry, confused, pitiful, and baffled. Boys and girls, teens and adults. Black and white, Asian and African, all fixed on him and all drowning him with their gaze. He could hardly stop the tears that tried to escape under the intense pressure.

"It was an accident…" Steven could see nothing but tears, "I just wanna go home…"

"Aww, is the baby crying?" Mason made a gesture of wiping a tear, "What? Are you gonna go home to your mommy? Stop being such a fucking crybaby."

Steven's blood ran cold.

They hadn't known him long, but they knew him well enough to know that was not a subject to talk about. That was not a subject to joke about. The world around him faded in and out of focus, and the knives driving through his heart and his stomach were unrelentlessly sharp and tipped with a poison that crept through his blood and turned it both fire hot and ice cold.

He was aware of the gasps that echoed around him from those who knew him. He was aware of Sadie and Lars both grabbing at him as he ran by, and Jamie trying to do the same. He was aware that none of them did more than slow him down, and he was aware that he had no idea where he was running, or where he was even at. What he wasn't aware of was the small group of teens that ran after him.

* * *

The gems were planning a surprise for Steven.

It wasn't very often they had money left over, but the money Steven and his father had gotten this week was surprisingly bountiful. Enough to stock up on food, counting breakfast each morning from Fryman's, to pay the bills, and even enough for a left over treat! The treat they had picked out were chocolate chip cookies. You could never go wrong with them!

All four gems gathered around to see their masterpieces as Pearl pulled the pan out of the oven. Some of the cookies were oddly-shaped and lumpy (those ones were from Amethyst), while others were perfectly round and symmetrical (clearly from Pearl). A few were far too large (Garnet had greatly overestimated how much dough to use) and had melted into other cookies. It was clear which cookies were designed by Spinel, for they were in the shapes of hearts and moons and stars. As Pearl began to delicately separate the cookies that had merged together, Amethyst felt a familiar twinge in her gem that could only mean one thing.

Amethyst reached up toward the pile, toward one of her own odd, lumpy cookies, only to be met with a swat on the hand by Pearl's spatula.

"Ow!"

"Those are for Steven!" Pearl scolded, and then she immediately went back to her work.

Amethyst pouted, and crossed her arms as the tempting scent only urged her on. When she made a second attempt to reach for a cookie, and was met with the same fate, she resigned herself to waiting until Steven got back to steal one off of his plate. Then she noticed Spinel's arms stretching, one toward Pearl's left shoulder and one to her right, while Spinel herself crouched in a position to be hidden out of sight. She tapped Pearl's left shoulder and, when Pearl turned to look, snatched one of the lumpy cookies on the top and quickly pulled her arm back to normal length, hiding it behind her back as Pearl located her 'hiding spot' with a scowl. Spinel held both hands behind her innocently.

"What?"

"Of the childish antics…" Pearl muttered, "I mean, how old are you?"

"Older than you!" Spinel taunted, to which Pearl gave a flick of her spatula.

"Then act like it."

She went back to the cookies. The moment her back was turned, Spinel handed the liberated cookie to Amethyst, who gave a silent thanks to the cookie gods and ate the delectable treat in one bite.

The door suddenly swung open, and they all turned to watch as Steven ran inside.

"Steven!" Spinel exclaimed, her eyes following Steven as he ran past them, "We have-" Steven didn't stop. He ran all the way up to his loft and jumped on his bed. "Cookies…"

Amethyst looked to Pearl, and then to Garnet, and lastly to Spinel, to make sure her confusion wasn't unwarranted.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

The only answer Amethyst got was a shout from Spinel. "MY BABY!"

Arms outstretched, Spinel abandoned the other gems in the kitchen, extending her limbs high enough to climb onto the loft, for taking the stairs would take too long.

Pearl dropped what remained of the cookies on the pan, "My baby!"

She ran to Steven too, much to Spinel's dismay. Amethyst made to follow too, until Garnet grabbed her hard by the arm.

"Come on."

Amethyst didn't protest as Garnet pulled her outside, and once they were on the porch they came to face three people Amethyst recognized: Buck, the son of the mayor; Jenny, the daughter of the pizza guy; and Vidalia's son Sourcream.

"Is Steven alright?" Jenny called up.

"Tell us what happened." Garnet demanded

It seemed Garnet's commanding attitude affected more than just the gems she lead. Sourcream was the first to obey. "These three kids were saying mean things about him."

"Yeah!" Jenny agreed, "They called him a baby!"

"They talked about his mother too." Buck added.

"You should of seen it!" Sourcream followed up, "Throwing him around like a rag-doll, and everyone loves Steven. Nearly every teen in the place was ready to beat them up!"

"Tell us exactly what they said." Garnet ordered.

Sourcream considered this. "Can I swear?"

"Sure."

Sourcream took a deep breath, and explained word for word what he had overheard and seen. The taunting, the shoving, the mention of his mother. The more he said, the more angry Garnet got, until she was physically steaming and her visors were such an intense shade of red that Amethyst could almost believe they were stained in blood. The gem on her left hand began to smoke, and Amethyst was sure that any second, it would burst into flames.

When Sourcream was done talking, Garnet spoke, and she sounded remarkably calm. "Thank you for telling us. We can handle it from here."

Garnet lead Amethyst back inside, and the first thing Amethyst did was hurry to check on Steven; unlike the others, she used the stairs.

Spinel was cradling Steven not unlike a baby, with Steven's head resting on her shoulder, while Pearl had his hand in hers, and a box of tissues at her side.

"Garnet?" Pearl looked up from Steven just long enough to watch the leader walking to the warp pad, "Where are you going?"

"To cool off." Was all Garnet said before she disappeared through the warp pad.

Then Pearl looked up to Amethyst. "What happened?"

Amethyst plopped down on the bed right next to Spinel, gently stroking Steven's back.

"Some mean kids have been picking on him." Amethyst summed up.

"They called me fat." Steven managed to say through his sobs.

Spinel was outraged. "WHAT?!"

When Steven tried to pull away, Spinel made an attempt to pull him back into their hug and hold him there, but Steven only pushed her away once more.

"They talked about mom…"

It was Pearl's turn to be outraged. "WHAT?!" She tried to pull Steven into an embrace and was met with the same resistance he showed toward Spinel.

"They said I couldn't sing because I don't have a neck…"

Spinel let out a gasp, and then she clenched her teeth, reaching into her gem. "That's it, I'm gettin' me mallet!"

Pearl quickly stopped her. "Spinel, no."

"Why not?!" Spinel hissed.

"We can't go around hurting humans, even if they deserve it. They're just kids."

Steven nodded along slowly. Spinel's expression softened and she laid two hands on Steven's shoulder, but made no attempts for another hug.

"Is that why you haven't been wanting to eat lately?"

Steven nodded again.

Spinel scoffed. "Puh-lease! They're only jealous cause their skinny butts eat nothing but salads! And they don't even eat the croutons I bet!"

Steven laughed, and so did Amethyst. Then Steven's laughter faded.

"But you not fat…"

Spinel dismissed this. "I don't technically eat anything! And even if I did, gems have the metabolism of a gnat!"

This produced another laugh from Steven, one that wasn't cut short.

"Yeah, and you're a kid!" Amethyst imputed, "Kids are supposed to be fat!"

"AMETHYST!"

But Steven only laughed.

"And you can sing!" Spinel went on, "Way better than those bullies, no matter what they say."

"And you do have a neck! It's just under all this fat!"

"AMETHYST!"

Steven saw no fault in Amethyst's words, and he threw his arms around her. They were the same size, so Amethyst found it hard to hold him like she could when he was little, but she did her best.

"It's fine." Steven said, and he pulled Amethyst into a hug (Pearl and Spinel were both jealous), "I'm fine. Everything's fine…"

There was the sound of a warp pad activating as Garnet returned, soaked and dripping wet. She only had to flex her body, and the droplets all flew off her. She jumped onto the loft in a single bound, right beside Amethyst and Steven.

"Where have you been?" Amethyst asked.

"The Artic Sea."

Garnet dropped down, crossed her legs, and waited.

"You missed the whole inspirational scene!" Spinel said.

"No I didn't."

She only had to open her arms for Amethyst to understand, and to hand Steven over. When compared to Garnet, the boy still seemed very much like a baby, and could be carried like one with ease. Garnet did just that as her visors flushed blue.

"Listen very closely Steven. What those bullies said about you may have been true in their eyes, but it isn't in everyone else's. Everyone you meet in life is going to have a different view of you. A different opinion, and a different expectation. They have their view of you, good or bad, but all that truly matters is how you view yourself.

"You are a very special child, and I'd view you an idiot if you didn't believe that. It doesn't matter what those boys said to you; chances are you'll hear those same insults later on, but that's just it. That's all they are; insults. Thoughts. Butterflies. No one should be scared of butterflies.

"People like them search for the smallest insecurities in someone, and they latch onto it. Even as that person grows, they latch all the same, even when the insults no longer apply. But people like you," She gave Steven a gentle bop on the nose, "Latch onto the smallest traces of good instead.

"They call someone short." She looked to Amethyst, "You call them fun sized. They call someone a push over." She looked to Pearl, "You call them eager-to-please. They call someone strange." She looked to Spinel, "You call them unique. They call someone different." She held a hand over her chest, "You call them beautiful. They call you fat."

Garnet stood up, picking Steven up in her arms.

"I say, there's more of you to love."


	11. Onion Friend

**Content warning: The following content contains innuendos that, while not sexual in nature, do carry some semblance of the subject. You have been warned.**

Steven was at the arcade, and for the first time in weeks, it was actually a happy occasion. seemed extra happy that Steven wasn't with those bullies anymore, and he even gave Steven a few extra tickets that had gotten left behind by some careless patron. Steven wasn't there alone either; he was with Amethyst. Spinel, Pearl, and Garnet were tracking an eye agate; they said they wouldn't be back until late, and Amethyst was to watch Steven, as much as it seemed to bother Pearl.

For the longest time, they had only sat and watched cartoons on Steven's loft, but when Amethyst realized there was no food in the house, she suggested they go out to eat. They only got one slice of pizza to share, since it was larger than an average dinner plate and far too much for Steven to finish himself; plus, it was far cheaper than getting separate slices, and they still got plenty to eat. Then, since they were already out, they decided to go to the arcade right next door.

They were taking turns with Steven's card, and since it was Steven's turn, Amethyst had taken the chance to go up to the counter and buy as much candy as she could afford with the tickets she earned. Steven finished his game of ski ball, winning few tickets as a reward, and since Amethyst was still busy choosing, he decided another game couldn't hurt. When he reached down to where he had left his card, however, all he felt was the smooth, empty surface of the separator.

"Huh?"

He looked, and there was no card there. There was no card on the floor, or on the aisle next to his. He turned around just in time to see a pale boy in a white shirt disappear out onto the boardwalk.

"ONION!"

Steven gave pursuit. He wasn't very fast, but he did have a size advantage, and when he reached the doorway, he was just in time to see Onion run up to his exhausted mother and be hoisted into her arms. Steven slowed to a trot when he saw Vidalia snatch the card from Onion's hand, much to the boys disgruntled fury.

"Where in the holy hell did you get this…" She looked around the boardwalk, her eyes settled on Steven, and she swore. She met Steven halfway and handed his card back to him. "Sorry. Onion's been in one of his little moods lately."

Looking at Onion, that was clear. The boy was pouting and had crossed his arms, pressing his face into the crook of his mother's arm as if that could hide from the confrontation and embarrassment.

"It's fine." Steven said "Thanks for giving me my card back."

"Yo Steven!" Steven and Vidalia turned to look, "There you are!"

Amethyst joined them, and for a moment a familiar sensation passed between Vidalia and Amethyst, but in that next second it was gone, as if they had both shaken it out of mind.

"Amethyst?" Vidalia gave a light-hearted laugh. "Well this is a surprise. You watchin the boy today?"

"Yeah, I was stuck on babysitting duty." Amethyst gave a shrug.

"Well that's never fun." Vidalia leaned closer and covered Onion's ears, "I should know; that's every second of my life." She uncovered Onion's ears. "It's not all bad, but it was definitely a shocker; Sourcream was such an easy baby, hardly ever cried at all! But little Onion here? He's the devil incarnate, I tell ya what! I remember when Steven here was a baby too, he was so playful! He and Sourcream would have the cutest little playdates!"

Steven laughed. "I don't remember." He admitted.

"Well I wouldn't expect ya to, you was so little then. You and Greg came to stay with us on your first birthday, stayed 'til your fourth! Then Onion here came along and I just couldn't keep up with five people to feed, and Greg had gotten that job at the car wash and was doing pretty well for himself, and you weren't so little anymore."

"So she kicked you out." Amethyst added casually.

"I did not!" Vidalia protested, but her expression was nothing but playful, "Your daddy left on his own, to the van. He'd still come by sometimes and drop you off, but you was mostly on your own after that."

"Until I went to live with the gems!" Steven added proudly, "Right?"

Vidalia snapped her fingers. "Exactly!" She looked between Steven and Amethyst. Onion reached up with small, grubby hands and made impatient noises until Vidalia lowered her head down to hear what he had to say. "What a great idea, Onion! Why don't you come over for a playdate, Steven? And while y'all kids are busy, Amy and I can uh. Catch up.

"Sure!" Steven agreed, then quickly added, "Can we, Amethyst?"

Amethyst thought, and then she shrugged. "We ain't got nothing better to do,"

"Will Sourcream be there?" Steven asked hopefully.

Oh, well, he'll show up for dinner, but after that he usually goes off with his little friends."

"Okay! So it'll just be me and Onion then!"

Steven tilted his head a little to get a better look at Onion. The younger boy returned the look with such a burning glare that Steven flinched away.

"Can I use the rest of my time first?" Steven asked, holding up his card, "I already bought it, and I don't want it to go to waste."

"Of course you can, sweetie."

Onion shot to attention, muttering something Steven couldn't understand, and grabbing at the air in front of him.

Vidalia seemed to understand him perfectly. "No, Onion." She said patiently, "We can't afford it."

"I can share!" Steven offered immediately.

Vidalia held a hand over her heart. "That's awfully nice of ya! Say thank you, Onion."

Onion muttered something that could be taken as a thank you.

"You're welcome!"

Steven and Onion took turns with the rest of the time left on the card, though Onion often snuck in two turns while Steven wasn't paying attention; Steven didn't mind, though. The time ran out, and though Steven accepted it immediately, it took Onion a few furious, denied scans to admit that they couldn't play anymore. It took them a while to find their respective guardians, and when they did, they found the two sitting at a glass table, talking and laughing about something that they quickly hushed as they saw Steven and Onion approach.

"Hey y'all." Vidalia seemed more flustered than usual, "Ya'll all done?"

"Yup!" Steven responded, "All done!"

"Great." Amethyst hopped down from the seat, and she passed by Steven, he felt a rush of that same heat from earlier. "Let's get going. Vivy's making dinner!"

"Vivy?" Steven inquired.

Amethyst brushed it off quickly, "Yeah, she's Vivy and I'm Amy, just some nicknames from years ago. Coulda almost forgot about it if I'm being honest."

"Really?" Vidalia said, "Not me! I have the memory of an elephant!"

"Yeah, and the size of one too."

Steven flinched at the insult, but looking to Vidalia, he was shocked to find her laughing and flushing red.

"Amy!" She gave Amethyst a playful shove, and Amethyst stumbled more than she had to. Then they were both laughing.

Steven looked between them as the laughing went on and on, until fading into a slight chuckle, and then finally into nothing more than longing looks.

"What are you making for dinner, Vidalia?

"Huh?" It was almost as if Vidalia forgot he was there, "Oh! Mashed potatoes, sandwiches, and green beans. Hope you like turkey sandwiches; if not, I think I have some ham."

"I love turkey!" Steven proclaimed.

"Good." Vidalia smiled, "And I know Amy here'll eat just about anything, so we're good on that front. I don't suppose you remember where we live?"

Steven shook his head. "Nuh uh."

"Figures. We'll, stick close, it ain't far."

"Okay!"

* * *

When they got to Vidalia's house, a faint memory of the place beamed into Steven's mind, as hard to grasp and easy to lose as water in your hands; it was there, he could feel it, he could see it, but before he could get a clear vision of it, it slipped between his fingers and was gone. It was a dingy place, with peeling yellow paint scraping down the sides after years of neglect, and grass growing through the yard in an unkempt, untamed manner. A few planks were missing from its main foundation, and in the darkness underneath Steven could see several glowing eyes peering back at them.

"Aww! Kitties!"

Many of the cats crawled out, one after the other; all different colors and patterns and appearances; some young, with soft kitten fur and wide blue eyes, and others old and mangled with ripped ears and scars. Mothers with kittens trodding right behind their paws, and some with heavy bellies that would soon have kittens of their own.

"Hi babies." Vidalia knelt down to show affection to each cat in turn, and her son did the same, "Yes, yes, I know. You're getting so fat now Chives," She pet a particularly fat she-cat, white with gray and black, "Ima have to bring you inside soon to have your kittens, and then we gotta get ya fixed up, don't we baby?"

Onion was quickly swarmed by kittens, and he opened his arms to accept their affections. Ginger and white, black and white, and a tabby. Each kitten mewed in turn, begging for the most affection.

"Aww! Sweet!"

A light engulfed Amethyst, and when it faded, where she once stood was a purple and gray cat. Vidalia seemed vaguely interested, but was so relaxed about it that Steven was sure she'd seen it before. Onion had a similar reaction and barely spared a glance from his kittens.

"Meow meow, mutherfucker." Amethyst quickly second guessed her wording and cat-her looked up at Steven, "Don't tell anyone I said that."

Steven made the motion of zipping his lips.

"Sweet."

Amethyst padded over to Vidalia. A few of the cats scattered at her approach, but most barely noticed her. She flopped onto her back and rolled in the dirt.

"Hey Vivy~" She purred, "Pet my belly~"

Vidalia flushed red. "Oh wow. You're uh… anatomically correct there, huh?"

"You bet I am~"

"Why did you choose a tom cat?"

"Why not?"

Amethyst rolled back onto her belly and, in another flash of light, was back to her normal self. All the cats scattered then, with hoots and hollers of shock and dismay as they disappeared under the house. There another, even more jarring noise sounded and Steven flinched away.

"Woah." Amethyst said, pointing to the massive brute of a dog that had appeared at the window, howling and growling, "That's new."

"That's just Baron." Vidalia dismissed, "We got him as a guard dog."

"Why buy a guard dog when you have me?" Amethyst was engulfed in light once more, and emerged as a remarkably similar beast, with powerful, slobbering jaws, broad shoulders, and mangy fur. She gave a remarkably realistic bark and wagged her shaggy tail.

"Amethyst, stop mimicking my pets!" Vidalia scolded.

"C'mon!" Amethyst leaped up onto Vidalia's shoulders and wrapped her paws around Vidalia's shoulders. "Lemme give you a kiss!"

"Amethyst!" Vidalia shoved her off.

Steven felt incredibly uncomfortable. Baron was still barking at the top of his lungs, cats were hissing at the sight of the newly formed dog, and Vidalia and Amethyst barely acknowledged Onion and Steven as they waited to go inside.

"What? You know you love me!"

"I gotta start dinner!"

Amethyst returned to herself again. Vidalia fiddled with her keys for the longest time, while Amethyst hung at her side uncomfortably close, and when she finally opened the door Baron made an attempt to escape.

"Aght!" Vidalia scolded, and that was enough to stop Baron in his tracks, "Back! Back! Go lay down!"

Baron hung his tail and flattened his ears, but obliged and padded back inside.

"Sorry about the mess." Vidalia said as she lead everyone inside; Onion immediately ran off up a flight of stairs, "Haven't had the chance to clean in a while."

The house was dirty, with stained carpet and a sharp smell that seemed to cling to the very air itself; even the heavy amount of incense smoking in the air couldn't block it out. Furniture was torn up, claw marks lined the corners of each wall, and in one corner was a large kennel, which the great brute Baron slept in. Steven could see at least two cats, one resting on the back of the couch and another on the floor.

Amethyst took a deep breath. "Ah. Smells just like home."

Steven took a deep breath. "No it doesn't. Home smells like sugar and roses."

Amethyst scoffed. "Sure. Your room maybe. But mine?" Amethyst took another inhale, "Smells just like this."

Vidalia shook her head, but said nothing about Amethyst infatuation with the smell. "Why don't you go up to Onion's room?" She suggested to Steven, "It's the one at the end of the hall; ya can't miss it."

"Okay!"

Steven ran up the stairs, careful not to trip, but before he could get to the end of the hall, he decided to follow steady thump thump of drums to an open doorway. When he peered through, he wasn't shocked to see Sourcream bobbing his head as he kept the rhythm, his eyes closed in his concentration. Despite his lack of vision, he knew exactly where each drum was, how hard to hit it, and where to hit it, to make the best sounding beat.

"Hi Sourcream!"

It was a wonder Sourcream could hear him, but he did. He immediately stopped his drumming to politely greet Steven with a nod.

"You staying with us again?"

"No, I'm just here to play with Onion."

Sourcream bent down behind the drums, and when he sat back up he held a pure black kitten in his arms, brandishing a bright blue collar.

"Cool." He said, methodically petting the kitten's ear. "Good luck."

"Thanks!"

Onion's room was easy to find, as Vidalia said it would be; not only was the door opened to reveal a room littered with toys and gadgets that all seemed far too expensive for Vidalia to afford, but he also found Onion standing ominously in the center of his room, watching and waiting. When he saw Steven, he immediately turned and fled, making his way expertly around all the toys and jumping on a small trampoline that propelled him onto his bed, where he continued his jumping fiasco.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just jump on the bed?"

Steven didn't get a response, but he didn't expect one either. He sat on the foot of the bed, watching as Onion leaped up and down, but he made no attempt to join him, especially not without invitation. He found his eyes wandering around the room, taking in the chaotic spectrum and trying to make sense of it all.

That's when he heard a rustling. A steady scratching like tiny claws on cardboard, and immediately he set out to find its source, expecting another kitten. What he found instead, however, was a pure white mouse in a small cardboard carrier.

"Aww." Steven reached in and picked up the mouse, laughing as it poked its tiny head through his sleeve and tried to climb inside, "Is this your little friend?"

Onion stopped bouncing. He hopped down from the bed and walked over to Steven, holding out his hands with a blank expression. Steven pulled the mouse out of his sleeve and gingerly placed it into Onion's hand. Onion held it tight, gave Steven a blank look, and then hurried off to a large glass terrarium.

Steven felt nervous, but he didn't know why. "That uh… that's a large house for such a small little guy…"

Steven ventured closer, peering into the glass tank, heated by a lamp and decorated with rocks and plants and a small pool of water. Curled up among the rocks was the large, scaly form of a rattlesnake.

Steven took a step back.

It wasn't that he had never seen a snake before (Spinel had plenty of those wandering around her room) but he had not expected it here, of all places. And as the probable fate of the mouse dawned in his head, it only made the shock that much worse.

"You… you're feeding our little friend to the snake, aren't you?"

Onion nodded.

"Aren't you supposed to feed them dead rats?"

Onion shook his head.

"Oh."

Onion picked the mouse up carelessly by its tail and held it out to Steven. He nodded toward the terrarium, and Steven immediately understood. He took the mouse from Onion, lifted the top of the cage, and dropped the mouse inside.

"Sorry little buddy."

The sound it made pulled at Steven's heart, and before he saw the snake strike its prey, he turned away. Onion remained intently staring, watching closely through the whole process with wide eyes. The struggling was fast and loud, but just as quickly fell silent, and Steven felt a pinch of dread knowing what that meant.

"At least it was quick." He turned back to Onion, careful not to let his eyes wander to the predator just beyond the glass. "What other things do you have?"

Onion considered, then made an epiphanic noise and hopped back onto his bed, carefully peeling a poster off the wall to reveal a hidden door. Small, painted white, looking more like a windowsill than anything else. Onion pulled it open to reveal a long, dark hallway lined with cobwebs.

"Sure, that's not creepy at all."

Onion pulled himself into the crawlspace and crawled fast into the darkness. Steven's curiosity got the better of him and, despite all our senses screaming at him to turn back, he climbed inside. He barely fit, and found it much harder to propel himself forward as the space got narrower and narrower until opening up into, while still small, a wider section; a small room painted white.

"What is this place?" Steven had to crouch to avoid hitting his head.

No response.

Pressed against one wall was a bean bag, and it would have been normal sized in every aspect had it not been in a room much too small. In another corner was a life-sized treasure chest, surrounded by books and a single credit card sitting among the pile. The final wall was covered in pictures of everyone in Beach City: The Pizza twins, doing various activities, Buck Dewey and the cool kids hanging out near the boardwalk, Steven sleeping in his bed, and many others focusing on the gems. Them in battle, and them in rest. Them hanging out on the beach, or on their temple, or at Funland. Pictures of their house and their temple, inside and out. Amethyst shape shifting, Spinel stretching, Pearl and Garnet summoning their weapons, and much more.

"Uhhh…" Steven could feel the tension snap in the air, "What are you doing with those?"

No response.

Onion made his way past the books, and to the treasure chest. He pulled a lock out of his pocket, unlocked the chest, and threw it open to reveal artifacts and toys off all kinds. Steven forgot about the pictures almost immediately.

"You have G.U.Y.S!"

Onion nodded, dug deeper into the chest, and pulled out a particular plastic bulb.

Steven gasped. "Ranger Guy!" Onion dropped it in his hands, and it took everything Steven had not to drop it from shaking so much, "These are so rare!"

He went to hand it back to Onion, but Onion shook his head, pushing the toy back.

Steven stared. "For me?"

Onion nodded proudly and pointed to his stack, to no less than three other ranger guys.

"Thanks Onion!" Steven held Ranger Guy close. "I don't even care that you're a creepy stalker anymore!"

Onion gave a thumbs up.

"What other cool things do you have in there?"

Onion reached back into his treasure trove and pulled out a sack, dumping it onto the floor in front of them.

"More G.U.Y.S! And G.A.L.S!" Steven knelt down to sift through the pile, "I thought they stopped making these!"

Onion beamed sat on the floor and patted the hardwood in front of him with a bright smile, inviting Steven to play. Steven happily obliged.

Almost an hour later, their game of G.U.Y.S and G.A.L.S was put on hold when Vidalia called out to them from the other side of the crawlspace.

"Y'all having fun your little office?" She said brightly.

"Yeah!" Steven exclaimed, "We're playing with G.U.Y.S and G.A.L.S!"

"Well, dinner's ready whenever you want it."

Onion dropped his Construction Guy and Construction Gal and left them in favor of the calling of food. Steven took the time to pack up the toys back into their bag, except for the one gifted to him, and place them all neatly in the treasure chest, locking it up and taking the key.

When he joined Vidalia's family, and Amethyst, at the table, he passed the key to Onion and the younger boy casually stuck it back in his pocket. Steven picked up his sandwich.

"Thanks for dinner, Vidalia." He said politely.

"You're welcome, sweetness." Vidalia said, "Anything for a friend of the family."

Steven took a bite, and as he chewed, he thought. Amethyst and Vidalia were sitting awfully close, and they were chatting up a storm. They were talking so much that Amethyst had barely even touched her food!

Steven swallowed his mouthful and, not wanting to interrupt the conversation, turned to Sourcream. "I saw Onion's snake."

"That's just Franklin." Sourcream said casually, "He's mostly chill, except when he tries to eat Lucy."

Steven didn't bother asking who 'Lucy' was"He uh. Fed him a live mouse. Aren't the mice usually dead?"

Sourcream took his time chewing before answering. "Eh, usually. But Brussel Sprout don't like em dead, so we have to give them to him live or he won't eat." Sourcream casually took another bite. "Hey Onion bro, got some ketchup?"

Onion reached into his pocket and pulled out at least a dozen packets, throwing them up in the air like confetti. Sourcream caught one, thanked Onion, and then added it to his sandwich like it was the most common thing in the world.

Vidalia swallowed a mouthful and said, "Now you listen here, Steven: I want you to tell your daddy he's welcome to stop by any time he needs for a hot meal. Or a cold sandwich, depends on what we're having that day."

Steven was still taken aback by the ketchup packets strewn everywhere, but he did his best to ignore it. "I will."

"Good." Vidalia took another mouthful. "And Onion, get that mouse outta your mouth and eat your dinner!"

Steven blinked. He looked, and sure enough, Onion opened his mouth to reveal a pure black mouse, definitely not the one fed to the snake.

Amethyst jumped back so hard she nearly fell out of her seat, but Vidalia was close enough to stop that.

"Hey Lucifer." Sourcream held out his arm, and the mouse leaped onto it, crawling down into his sleeve and disappearing out of sight. It appeared shortly after at the collar of Sourcream's shirt; the teenager picked up a piece of bread and offered it to it, and they accepted it gladly.

"I hate mice!" Amethyst said.

"Hey." Sourcream was about as angry as Steven had ever seen him, which wasn't much; just a slightly more aggressive frown. "What did mice ever do to you?"

"Exist."

"Did he have that in his mouth the whole time?" Steven asked.

"Yeah." Sourcream confirmed. "We tried to stop him, but Onion cannot be stopped when he puts his mind to something."

Vidalia nodded her agreement. "It's true."

Onion nodded along.

"Oh."

Steven focused the rest of the time on eating his food, scraping the last remnants on the plate into his mouth in an attempt to avoid conversation as long as possible.

When he finished, Amethyst hadn't even touched her sandwich, or even her mashed potatoes for that matter. Sourcream had long since finished and left with Lucifer in tow, and Vidalia had also finished, but still remained seated and enraptured by Amethyst. Onion hadn't touched his food other than making a sculpture out of his mashed potatoes that looked suspiciously like Steven, licking it, and then smashing it to bits. Again, Vidalia said nothing.

Steven sat there in silence for nearly ten minutes before he finally worked up the courage to say, "Amethyst? I think we should get back before the gems do. It's getting dark."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Can't you walk back yourself? You know the way?"

"Amy." Vidalia scolded gently, then she turned back to Steven, "I'm sorry, Sweetness, didn't mean to keep y'all so long. S' just that Amy and I haven't spent much time together lately, ya know, and it can get rather lonesome caring for little Onion here."

"It's fine." Steven said quickly, "I didn't mean to rush."

Vidalia shook her head. "No, no, you're right. You should get back before dark, and anyhow it's time for me to attempt to get Onion to bed."

She stood up and walked over to Onion, looking closely as the visibly untouched food splattered across his plate.

"Okay, you've eaten plenty." She said, then picked up Onion into a cradle. "You and Steven musta worked up an appetite together, huh?"

Onion nodded, and then he beckoned his mother closer. Vidalia listened intently before saying, "Onion just wanted to say how thankful he was for you coming over, Steven. He never gets a chance to play with kids his own age." She covered her sons ears. "Most thing he's a tad strange, if you'll believe it."

Steven definitely believed it.

"But I think he's just swell, even if he is a demonic little shit nugget, if you'll pardon my French."

"I don't think that's French."

Vidalia laughed. "It's just an expression."

"Oh, okay."

"Anyway, it was nice catching up with you, Amy."

Amethyst rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. You too, Vivy."

The two locked eyes, and for a moment no one moved. Then Amethyst grabbed Steven by the arm and lead him out onto the sidewalk without another word.

"You have fun, kiddo?" She asked once they were a good distance away; there wasn't any emotion in her voice other than a sadness Steven didn't understand.

"Yeah!" He said, trying to sound positive, "We played. Onion's… a little weird, but it's cool. I'm used to weird. What about you and Vidalia?"

Amethyst blushed a dark purple. "What about us?"

"Did you have fun?"

Amethyst thought about it, and then she laughed. She wrapped her arm around Steven's shoulders.

"With Vidalia, every second is the best one of my life."


	12. The power to heal

**Credit for Drake goes to Spikedtankedmaster**

"Come on, Steven!"

Steven was walking as fast as he dared; it was all he could do to not fall apart. The energy that drained from him seemed to flow into Connie, fueling her while depleting him. At the top of the hill, the new white fence stuck out bright against the rest of the dull colors of Autumn. Once they reached the top, Connie barely seemed to see the new fence; her attention was drawn to the pink, flying bundle of scales and features soaring over the beach.

"Why do you have binoculars?" Steven asked in an effort to rid of the deafening silence.

"I told my mom I was going bird watching." Connie explained without looking at him, "Which isn't exactly a lie, I guess."

Steven squinted up toward where Drake fluttered about, like a snake gifted with wings and legs, and a body lined with pink scales, rosy-feathered wings, and a mane of identical feathers around his neck.

"Look at the size of him!" Connie exclaimed; the basilisk was of an extraordinary size when compared to most of the species, "He must be really old! And I've never seen a pink one before! Imagine the breeding programs we could get him in!"

"Yeah…" Steven agreed with minimal effort, "I'm not sure Spinel would like that…"

Connie lowered her binoculars and fixed Steven with a perplexed look. "What's wrong, Steven?"

Steven looked away. "Nothing."

"Okay…" Connie sounded uncertain. She put her binoculars back in her bag, "Let's just set up the picnic."

"Okay…"

They did just that. It wasn't much of a picnic: two tuna fish sandwiches, a shared bag of chips, two juices, and a lollipop; all but the lollipop had been provided by Connie, and the lollipop was a special treat from Spinel. Steven decided to leave it for last and went immediately into eating his sandwich, if only to avoid conversation.

"So…" Connie said after swallowing a mouthful of chips, "This fence is new."

"Yeah."

Connie waited expectantly, and when Steven said nothing more, she added, "Any particular reason it was installed?"

"No." Steven lied, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Steven?"

"Mmmm."

"Steeven."

"Mmmm."

"Steeeeeven-"

"Okay, okay!" Steven sat his sandwich delicately back on its baggie. "But it's not a happy story…"

* * *

"Amethyst!"

Steven dared not go closer. Amethyst could poof, and Amethyst could shapeshift, but he could not. Still, that didn't make the danger of Amethyst's position any less heart-wrenching; the sight of anyone, even a durable gem, standing dangerously close to the edge of a cliff was enough to pull on his heart and make the hairs on his neck stand straight up.

"Woah~" Amethyst wiggled her hips, and moved her whole body in a swaying motion, "Look at me~"

"You're gonna get hurt!"

Amethyst only laughed and took another step toward the edge. With a knowing smirk, she leaned completely over the edge and made as if to fall.

"Ooo~ I'm gonna fall!"

She leaned back to safety with ease and dove downward, lifting herself up into a handstand and waddling around near where the earth ended and the sky began.

"Amethyst!"

She leaned her legs over the edge, like a bridge stretching over the water, and bent her neck at an impossible angle to look back at him.

"Hey, think if I turn into a cat I'll land on my feet?"

"Please!"

Amethyst rolled flat onto the grass and then stood back up, placing a hand on her hip. "Relax I'm fine. What, you care about me or something?"

"Yes…" Steven whimpered.

For a moment, Amethyst's expression fell. "Aw, geeze, Steven… I didn't mean to…"

Her arms swung like a windmill as she pretended to lose her balance and fall backward.

"Amethyst!"

She didn't keep it up for long before returning to her balance and laughing. "Seriously Steven, you're too easy!"

"I care about you." Steven pouted.

"Please." Amethyst rolled her eyes, "I'm a seasoned gem warrior. I could do whatever I want and do it good. Watch this!"

Amethyst readied herself, giving herself a little shake before launching herself into the air and falling backward, right over the edge of the cliff.

"AMETHYST!"

Steven didn't have to be looking over the edge to know Amethyst was falling, and not shapeshifting, and he didn't have to look over the edge to hear the three solid, dull thuds that occurred in quick succession, one after the other, and the final thud ending in an audible crack.

Steven screamed.

"I'm okay!" Amethyst called up, but Steven didn't dare look down. Instead, he ran down.

When he found her, it was clear she hadn't moved from the spot she landed. She looked okay, but with gems it was often hard to tell. She sat up at Steven's arrival, rolled off the solid bolder, and landed on all fours in the sand.

"Amethyst…" Steven held a hand toward her, then thought better of it, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Amethyst stood up slowly, then say up straight and stretched, reaching her hands high over her body and letting out a low moan. Her hair fell over the side of her face, obscuring one eye.

"Never been better." She gave a grin and pulled her hair out of her face. "Except for this!"

Steven screamed.

While everything else seemed normal, the eye Amethyst had revealed was bulging and bloodshot, with streaks of red stretching through it and the navy blue pupil pulsating in a sickening manner.

"Amethyst!"

"Great."

Steven and Amethyst both turned toward the shout, and Amethyst let her hair fall back into place as she looked away from the approaching Crystal Gems; all three of them. They were there in seconds, and Steven stepped aside as Pearl ran past him to kneel beside Amethyst. She reached toward Amethyst's chest.

"Show me your gem!"

Amethyst slapped her away. "Bitch."

Pearl gasped at the insult and retracted her hand. "Don't use such vulgar language in front of Steven."

Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, blocking her gem from sight and blowing a tuft of lavender hair out of her face.

Spinel reached over and grabbed at the collar of Amethyst's shirt, attempting to pull it down before Amethyst turned her body to the side and blushed a bright indigo.

"At least buy me drink first."

Garnet scowled, and when she grabbed Amethyst's wrists, Amethyst didn't dare resist her. The leader was surprisingly gentle with moving Amethyst's arms to her side, and then pulling down her shirt (much to Amethyst's growing embarrassment), revealing her gem and a great deal of her chest.

Spinel covered Steven's eyes.

Gasps sounded all around him: one, two, and three. Steven moved his head around, trying to see despite his blindness.

"What? What's wrong?"

Spinel removed her hands. Amethyst was far darker than usual with a blush that seemed to extend far past her face, and her eyes locked anywhere except at the other gems.

"Your gem is cracked." Pearl breathed out.

"It's no big deal." Amethyst insisted.

Steven looked around. Garnet had a look of pure fear etched on her face, rivaled only by the identical fear on Pearl's. Spinel's eyes were glazed, her colors darkened and her pigtails pulled back like the ears of a scolded dog.

"Besides…" Amethyst went on, pushing her hair behind her ear, "Now I have this big ol' googly eye."

Steven felt like he was going to be sick.

"How did this even happen?" Pearl asked, breathless.

"Amethyst was goofing around on the cliff and fell off." Steven explained.

"Did not." Amethyst lied.

"Of course…" Pearl cast a glance up the high slope, "How could I have been so blind? We need to put a fence of there so this will never happen again!"

* * *

"And that's why the fence is there, the end." Steven wished he hadn't finished his sandwich so quickly, and now the only thing saving him from an awkward conversation was a lollipop he quickly opened and stuck in his mouth.

"What?!" Connie exclaimed, "It can't end there! What happened with Amethyst?!"

Steven pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and pointed. "She's down there."

Both leaned to look over the edge at Spinel and Amethyst gathering up balls of wet sand from the recent rainfall and using them as projectiles to try and hit Drake; Drake seemed to be in on the game, and seemed to purposely run into the flying dangers.

"Yeah." Connie admitted sourly, "But what happened after she cracked her gem?"

Steven was reluctant to answer. It seemed the silence brought him another distraction from the inevitable conversation ahead, and Drake soared past them, crashing into Steven and sending his lollipop flying out of his mouth. The basilisk was gone just as fast, doing a flip in the air and diving back down the cliff side.

"Aw man."

Steven picked up his lollipop, now coated in a thin layer of dirt, and fixed it with a sad expression.

Connie sighed. "Give it here."

Steven, though confused, listened and handed it over. Connie took the lollipop, put it in her mouth, and cleaned off the dirt as if it was no big deal. She took a few more tastes, then handed it back over to Steven. Steven slowly accepted it.

"Thank you." Steven popped the lollipop back into his mouth.

"Welcome." Connie muttered, then leaned forward, "Now tell me!"

"Fine…"

* * *

"Is that bad?" Steven asked, looking from gem to gem. "Amethyst falls off stuff all the time…"

Pearl sighed. "It'd be fine if it was just her body, but her gemstone is damaged."

"Well, how do we fix it?"

"Before…" Pearl paused, "We had Rose…"

The white gem looked to Garnet to guidance, and Steven did too. Garnet was kneeling in front of Spinel, with a hand resting on her shoulder. She was saying something that Steven couldn't quite hear. When she turned around to face the rest of the team, she raised her voice to be heard by all, but the words were clearly focused on Steven.

"Steven, your mother had healing tears that flowed from her gem. She felt real love for those around her, and felt true sorrow when they were hurt. You have the rose quartz gem now, and I'm certain that power is in you too."

Steven grabbed his gem.

"I'm not too sure…" Spinel said slowly.

Pearl scoffed at the simple suggestion. "What harm could it do to try?"

Steven made up his mind. "Amethyst, show me your gem!"

It seemed Amethyst made up her mind as well. "No way!"

"Come on, Amethyst." Pearl complained, You can't be serious; it's not like you actually have human anatomy, or anything to hide."

"Say's the gem with the body of a ten year old boy!" Amethyst snarled.

Steven held back his laughter. Amethyst seemed to take comfort in it and added:

"I'm fine, reall-"

Amethyst gasped, and then she fell silent as her form began to twist and mutilate, and her words became just as twisted; so twisted, Steven couldn't make out a word she was saying.

Steven covered his mouth so he wouldn't scream at the terrifying sight. The side of Amethyst's face seemed to melt like hot wax, and her hair phased in and out of existence. Her eyes pulsated, and her pupils dilated and constricted, until they finally settled into constantly moving spirals. Amethyst held her head and gave a groan of agony.

"Just let me try!" Steven cried out in distress; yet no tears came.

Amethyst's expression fell, and through the clear pain in her eyes she seemed to go through the motions of a decision, and then she pulled down her shirt just enough to reveal her gem with a clear, defined crack in its center.

Steven strained himself, but nothing came out. No tears. The emotion, the grief, the feeling was there, just not the tears. Just not the one thing he needed to happen most.

As the minutes wore on, and Garnet, Amethyst, Spinel, and Pearl grew more doubtful, so did Steven.

"We have no choice." Garnet said after five minutes had passed with no result. She let her shadow fall over Amethyst, "We have to take her to Rose's Healing Spring."

* * *

The spring was far away. The warp system only took them half way, and they had to walk the other half. Steven was glad the way was paved out clearly through the entangling jungle, a straight-forward, easy-to-follow trail.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Pearl said like a record on repeat.

Spinel rolled her eyes. "You say that about every mission we take Steven on."

Pearl crossed her arms. "Well I'm sorry if I'm excited to see Steven learn all about his mother's greatest monuments and achievements."

While the two bickered up ahead, Steven looked over his shoulder at Garnet and Amethyst. The former carried the later in powerful arms, and though Amethyst had at first insisted on walking herself, she now seemed to accept her fate, and had even fallen asleep. It was one of the rare occasions where Amethyst wasn't snoring loud enough to wake the whole temple; she was hardly snoring at all! Her fractured gem gave a telling glow, clear and bright through her shirt, telling of the dreams dancing in her head but not of their context. She burrowed herself deeper into the pits of her dreams, and into Garnet's arms.

Steven's eyes wandered again, looking to the vines that began to grow and weave above them, stretching out into arm-like branches reaching and grabbing and casting shadows all around. The path quickly grew too overgrown to walk without pricking yourself on a thorn, or stumbling over a root, or running into a low-hanging vine or cobweb. Garnet stopped suddenly.

"This isn't right."

Everyone stopped.

"You're right." Pearl agreed with a pout. "This isn't right. We should have reached the garden by now!"

Everyone looked around, including Steven, even though he didn't know exactly what he was looking for. Flowers, maybe, or any other colors that weren't gray and dull and dying.

"We already have." Garnet said suddenly.

"Huh?" Spinel and Pearl sounded the same confusion, and then glared at the other for daring to copy them.

"We have already reached the garden." Garnet said in a matter-a-fact tone. "This is the garden."

Pearl looked around and her baby blue eyes widened in disbelief. "No, it can't be! It's all overgrown! There's vine's everywhere!"

Garnet hummed. She shifted Amethyst into Spinel's arms before going closer to the nearest vine, and Pearl followed her far too closely, leaning over her shoulder and examining the same vine with an identical, thoughtful mind.

Steven jumped slightly at a sudden gibberish, and turned to see Amethyst, wide awake and slumping heavily into Spinel. Her eyes were haunted with sleep, and she had a bored expression on her face. Spinel shifted her grip on the purple gem.

"No, you're not." Spinel said, and then Amethyst responded with more gibberish, this time in a surprised tone. "Of course! Don't tell me you're surprised."

More gibberish. Spinel sat Amethyst on the ground, and she gave an over exaggerated stretch and yawn, followed by even more gibberish.

"What does she want?" Steven asked; he couldn't for the life of him understand her.

"She wants me to translate for her." Spinel explained. Amethyst cleared her throat and spoke more of her gibberish, backward talk while Spinel translated. "If your body can't cry on it's own, you've got to make it cry."

Amethyst slapped herself and made the motion of a tear streaming down her cheek.

"But I don't think-" Spinel added, but Steven hardly heard her.

"Pain. Pain can make me cry!" He looked around, "Where's pain? Hmmm."

His eyes fell upon one of the many vines, and one of the thousands of thorns that surrounded him.

Steven approached the vine slowly, and what little light that streamed through the jungle canopy seemed to sparkle off the point of the vine in a deadly gleam that his heart race and his stomach pinch into knots. He closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and pricked his finger.

"Ow!"

Steven immediately brought the finger to his mouth and sucked on the minor, yet painful, would. He used his other hand to feel his eyes, and his heart fell as he felt no tears and turned back to Spinel and Amethyst.

"No luck." He pouted.

Amethyst spoke quickly and wildly, making vague motions and punching herself in the eye, followed by a strange backward laugh.

"Amethyst says to poke yourself in the eye; that always worked when you were a baby."

Steven blinked. "You poked me in the eye when I was a baby?"

Spinel didn't need to translate the next thing Amethyst said; it was very clearly meant to be maybe, followed by a shrug.

Steven sighed.

"Well, this just won't do." Pearl pouted; Steven hadn't even heard her return, "The plants have lost their way without Rose's guidance, just as the Desert Glass had!"

"We need to get Amethyst to the healing spring." Was all Garnet said. She lifted her fist and her gauntlet appeared over it, igniting into a fire-hot red and causing the entire thing to steam faintly. The moment she touched a vine, it shriveled and burned out of existence, into a pile of charred ash on the ground. "This might take a while."

It did.

Nearly an hour later, after burning a path straight through the jungle, they finally came to an opening surrounding a monument of polished, white stone.

"Woah!"

Pearl took Steven by the hand and lead him inside to the side of the fountain. There it is! Just as I remember it! Expertly carved out by the construction gems thousands of years ago, to heal weary travelers! See, Rose wanted to heal everyone, even those she didn't know, so she left the fountain here for anyone in need! Your mother was thoughtful like that!"

Steven looked around. The area of enclosed forest was completely cut off from the sky, encased in a dome of vines. An almost nest of sorts.

"And there your mother statue stands guarding over the garden!"

Pearl motioned to a giant, life-like statue in the middle; though of white stone, the colors of the statues features were easy to picture in Steven's mind; rosy hair, strawberry eyes (though they were closed at the time), and peachy skin. Bubblegum lips and a layered white dress with the tell tale heart single at its center, and in the center of that star, the gem that was now Steven's.

"Is that… mom…?"

There was no need for an answer. Pearl stood on her toes to peer over the edge of the fountain. "Oh no…"

"It's dry…" Spinel followed up, stretching herself to see past the barrier.

"Garnet-" Pearl turned back around to look for their leader, and Steven followed suit.

Garnet had taken a knee near the entrance they had made, examining the charred ground with her hand.

"What are you doing?"

If Garnet had heard Pearl's question, she ignored it. She shambled a little farther away, still keeping her head low and her hand to the grass; or, lack thereof. Where the overgrown grass should have been, and where it was in every other place, was simply dead, overturned earth.

"The water isn't running." She commented offhandedly.

Spinel ran a finger across the bottom. "It's completely dry too!"

"It hasn't been running in a while…" Garnet said slowly.

Pearl began to hyperventilate. "This isn't good, this isn't good!" Her gem flared to life in pink and white beams, "What are we gonna do? Steven won't cry, the fountain's dried up!"

"Calm down."

Though said in a gentle tone, the words were enough to silence everyone, even Amethyst, for they came as an order from Garnet. Pearl's gem fell dormant once more.

"The fountain isn't running, and we need to find out why." Garnet picked up Amethyst in one arm and Steven in the other, "Steven, I need you to stay here with Amethyst and make sure she doesn't worsen the crack on her gemstone."

Amethyst muttered something like 'get off of my back'.

"You two stay here." Garnet placed the two of them on the fountain wall, nearly as big as she was. "While I take Spinel and Pearl with me to fix the water."

"Wait!" Steven cried out, and Garnet paused, "I might still cry! You might miss it!"

Garnet considered this, then gave Steven a gentle bop on the nose. "How about you keep trying to cry, while we go and fix the fountain? Maybe you'll figure it out before us."

"But I can-"

Garnet shushed Steven and said nothing more to him. She turned to Spinel and Pearl. "Let's go."

* * *

Connie let out a sudden yelp and Steven froze mid story.

"Connie?"

Connie took off her glasses, setting them carelessly on the grass beside her and rubbing her eyes with a scowl of pain etched in her face.

"Headache..." Connie muttered, then placed her glasses back on before opening her eyes. "Sorry, go on."

* * *

So Garnet, Spinel, and Pearl left, leaving Steven with only Amethyst as company. Though she tried to make conversation with her insane rambling it was impossible to understand her, and Spinel wasn't there to translate, so they fell into a game of charades in the bed of the dried fountain. Despite being one of Steven's favorite games, there was no heart in it on his end. His eyes kept drifting up to the statue that seemed to be watching, waiting, and judging all at the same time.

Soon, Steven stopped participating altogether.

"Amethyst…" Steven said, "What was mom like?"

Amethyst responded, but Steven didn't understand the words.

Pearl always spoke of Rose with such admiration, and Garnet spoke of her like a soldier would speak of a fallen comrade. Amethyst talked about her like she was a mother, or a friend, and Spinel hardly talked about her at all. Steven's dad talked about her like she was the most being alive, and Steven could see why he would think that.

Looking up at her flawless features, a perfectly rounded face, holding her arms out as if to embrace a hug from whoever rested eyes on her, it was clear to see just what everyone else saw in her, but Steven didn't know what to feel. He couldn't even look into her eyes, closed in an eternal slumber. It never felt right calling her his mom; the simple name left a bitter taste on his tongue and nausea brewing in his gut. Garnet or Pearl or Spinel or even Amethyst seemed more deserving of that title than the mother he never met.

Steven's father always told him he looked just like her. In the shape of his nose, in the star's of his eyes. In the way he laughed and smiled and even sang. Everyone was always telling him that he was just like Rose, but standing here faced with a life-sized version of her, that seemed to be farther from the truth than ever before. What did she look like when she laughed? When she smiled? What was her voice like when she sang, and when she talked, and when she hummed a song? What was she life.

All these emotions brewed up inside him, but none of them fulfilled what he was truly trying to achieve, and his eyes remained as dry as the desert where they found Lion. How could he mourn for someone he'd never met?

Amethyst interrupted his thoughts.

"I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" Steven was shocked by the pure rage in his voice, and so too was Amethyst. He tried to stop, but the fire burning within him only seemed to ignite further and all that blazing fury was taken out on Amethyst. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND A THING!" He tried to breath. "Why is everyone acting so strange? Why can't I-"

Steven wanted to cry, but nothing came. Not when he thought of Amethyst being gone forever, not when he thought of letting down the Crystal Gems, and not when he thought of his mother.

"WHY CAN'T I FUCKING CRY?!"

Steven slapped his hands over his mouth as the swear echoed throughout the vines, carrying on for miles it seemed. No tears came out, but Steven still felt hollow inside.

"I just…" Steven wiped away his non-existent tears, "I just don't know how to feel about you." He directed his words at the statue, "I wish I could have met you, then maybe this place would make me sad, and I could cry healing tears, like you…"

Steven fell to his knees and the world around him seemed to go dark.

Amethyst saying something brought Steven's attention back to the present, and he looked to the purple gem. Then he looked behind her, to the growing shadow that loomed over them. Amethyst noticed it at the same time, and her tone changed to one of fear as she muttered to herself and backed up beside Steven while the shadow grew larger by the second.

A series of loud chirps echoed throughout the chamber, sounding far louder than it would have been in an open field. Steven followed the ends of the shadow in an attempt to find the creature it belonged to, and his search brought his gaze high into the canopy above. It was easy to see it then.

It wasn't big, but in that moment, it didn't seem to matter. The size of a small dog, with a mostly scaly body gleaming like the leaves of a cherry blossom, with a mane of magenta round its neck and trailing down the length of its spine. Two powerful wings stretched out behind it made of similar material, and though the rest of its color scheme should have suggested otherwise, two pupils of neon green shone through the blackness all around.

"Oh." Steven was more relieved than he cared to admit, "It's a crystal basilisk."

The basilisk gave a click of its teeth, and pulled its lips back in a snarl. Any relief Steven felt quickly faded away.

The basilisk spread its wings and dove all the way down from its home in the vines, gliding effortlessly through the air and landing on the edge of the fountain above them as a realization dawned in Steven. He and Amethyst were trapped inside a stone bowl, with seven foot walls on either side and so way out.

The basilisk began to crawl down the side of the wall.

"Go away please…" Steven asked politely, and Amethyst backed up his pleas in her own way.

The basilisk looked up, stopping in its tracks halfway down the wall. It looked past Steven, to Amethyst, tilted its head and then leaped the rest of the way to the stone floor before continuing to make its way toward the both of them.

"We're not intruders…" Steven said feebly, "We're just here for my friend-"

The basilisk lunged, baring pink pointed fangs in an attempt to latch onto whatever it landed on, only to slam into the pink force field as Steven's bubble materialized around him and Amethyst.

"Huh. Good timing."

The basilisk bounced off the bubble and landed on its rear on the stone, shaking its head and coming to its senses. It looked strangely baffled, and Steven couldn't help but laugh. Then the basilisk reared up on two legs, and Steven stopped laughing. Its wings flapped behind it to help with balance, its neon eyes dilating at the sight of the rosy bubble and drifting down to look at Steven with a curious gaze.

"Hey…" Steven said softly, "It's okay…"

There was a rush of heat as the basilisk erupted into flames, and either they were truly tinted pink or it was only the bubble surrounding them, Steven couldn't tell. The fire bended and flared all around it, encasing it safely inside as it readied its next attack.

Then it froze in place, and so did Steven.

A haunting melody sounded through the tangled garden, a horn firing off at enough of a volume to reverberate all around them. The sound was muffled by the bubble surrounding Steven, but it wasn't enough to cancel the noise altogether. The rumble of the horn gave way to a rumble of a different kind. The rumble of water, growing steadily closer and shaking the ground, knocking Steven and Amethyst off their feet and causing the bubble to shatter around them. Steven forced his body to stand in a defense for Amethyst, but it seemed the approaching riptide did that for them, and the basilisk spread its wings and took to the air.

Steven took a deep breath of boggy air seconds before water washed down on top of him in a rush of powerful current.

He was immediately lifted off his feet and tossed into the undertow as the water fought against itself to settle. Left looked like right, up like down. He tried to swim to the surface, and only met the bottom. He tried to stand, and then could have almost screamed at his own stupidity, if holding his breath wasn't a key point in his survival. He opened his eyes to the stinging liquid and looked around, and when his eyes became away of piercing sunlight, he kicked off the ground and struggled toward the surface.

The moment his head broke the surface, relief washed over him. His legs and arms kicked out powerfully to keep him afloat. The numbness of his aching limb were chilled by the sacred water, but all of that discomfort gave way to warmth when his eyes adjusted to the sudden sunlight that had flooded his senses.

Where there once grew vines and overgrown thickets were now cherry blossoms in full bloom, swaying in the gentle breeze of autumn. The water around him was impossible blue and life-giving, and many petals drifted down and laid undisturbed on its surface, like hundreds of tiny blue boats drifting on a sea of healing. The dead grass was as green and vibrant as if it were the middle of spring, and the vines once separated the area from the rest of the garden were replaced with high-rising rose bushes. Steven looked to the statue of his mom, and for a moment he thought she was alive with colors, but it didn't take long after that to realize the polished stone was simply reflecting all the reds and pinks all around him. Her eyes were still closed, and from them drifted tears that flowed down into the fountain in an endless cascade.

The basilisk looked even brighter with the sun shining down on his feathers and scales, he soared skyward on the updraft, giving his wings two powerful flaps, and then landed on Rose's statue, wrapping around her head like a viper and fixing those emerald eyes down on top of Steven.

Steven looked around, searching for any sign of Amethyst, and it wasn't hard to find her dark purple against the greens and pinks and reds. She sat on the top of the fountain wall, dangling her feet over the edge and facing away from Steven. Steven quickly paddled toward her.

"Amethyst! Are you…?" Steven held on to the edge of the fountain, but didn't climb out of the water.

"Who is Amethyst?" Her voice was stoic and robic, "Name does not compute."

"Oh no! You're even worse!"

Amethyst snorted, and then she fell into uncontrolled laughter, clutching her stomach and falling over in a dramatic charade.

"Priceless!" She laughed out, "Absolutely priceless! You shoulda seen the look on your face!"

Steven pouted. "Not funny, Amethyst."

Amethyst was still laughing, and she helped Steven onto the stone beside her.

"Where'd that pink fella go?"

Steven pointed to the statue, but when he turned to look for himself, the basilisk had gone.

"Oh. Guess he flew away."

Amethyst shrugged. "Oh well."

"Oh, thank the stars!" As usual, Pearl was the first to run up to them, pulling down Amethyst's shirt without a warning as the purple gem let out a cry of indignation. "Good, your gem's back to normal!" She then looked to Steven and the relief faded, "Oh stars! You must be freezing-Garnet!"

Garnet was already there. As she dried the water into ice crystals and heated up his body, Steven began to recount his experience (every so often, Amethyst would add commentary of her own). When he finished, it took Garnet a while to reply.

"Huh." Was all she said. "You have got to stop swimming in icy waters."

Pearl clung tight to her side, but Spinel began to drift away from the group, to look around at the blossoms and roses in full bloom.

Pearl let out a massive, overagerated "Whaaat? What about that- that thing- that attacked them?!"

"It's only a crystal basilisk."

"It attacked them!" Pearl insisted, "We gotta do something about this infestation!"

"You do what you want." Garnet prodded Pearl in the chest, "As for me, I am just going to wait."

"For what?"

"For that."

There was no time to react before the jarring noise was all around them; so caught up in the conversation between Garnet and Pearl, Steven had barely noticed Spinel in the background until now, with her pinky finger stretched and bent in such a way that it looked almost like a horn. Her lips were pressed to it, blowing air and, in turn, resulting in that familiar loud echo; the same one that had caused the water to flow once more.

Spinel stopped momentarily and lowered the horn.

"Do you have to do that?" Pearl snarled, "What is the point-"

Pearl was put off by another loud, bellowing call from the horn, and then another. It was near the end of the third blow on her horn that Spinel got the result she was looking for, in the form of a rustle from one of the tree tops, followed by two bulging green eyes and a pink face poking out from the blossoms.

"That's it!" Steven said to Pearl, "That's the thing that attacked us! Pearl?"

Pearl looked terrified. "Oh stars… not again…"

Spinel stared up at the basilisk, and then held her arm straight out. The feathers on the basilisk's head stood straight up as it leapt from the tree, spreading its wings wide and drifting down, landing expertly onto Spinel's arm like a trained arm.

"Hi buddy!" Spinel gave it a little kiss on the head, and the basilisk leaned into her kiss with a series of chirps, "Yes, I know, I know."

"Uhh." Amethyst said, raising a hand as if to ask a question, but was promptly ignored.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know." Spinel kissed the basilisk all over, "How you doing my sweet?"

Amethyst leaned over to Garnet, "Should we get them a room, or?"

"That is Drake." Garnet said slowly.

Drake wrapped his body around Spinel's arm, crawling down the length of her body as if she were a jungle gym.

"She's one of Spinel's pets;" Garnet answered before the question was even asked, "A guardian."

Pearl let out an overcompensating laugh, "No."

Garnet nodded.

"No…" Pearl went on softly.

Garnet nodded.

Pearl put her hands to her face and let out a whimpering sigh, "No…"

Garnet nodded. "He and Pearl do not have a good relationship." Garnet replied to the two short, confused members.

Drake perked up at the sound of Pearl's name, his neck making a cracking sound as it seeming popped back into place. Steven flinched at the sound and watched as constricted pupils passed between him and Amethyst, up to Garnet, and then down at Pearl. They constricted even more, if that was possible. He seemed to smile.

"Oh stars help me…"

* * *

"And that's mostly everything. We went home after that and Drake followed us."

"That's awesome." Connie was rubbing her eyes again, her glasses in one hand and a throbbing headache that she was trying to ignore, "What's a guardian?"

"Garnet says they're placed in all of Rose's important places, to protect them. Drake didn't know who we were, so he thought were there to hurt the garden."

"Makes sense."

There was a flash, and a great glare.

"Woah, giant woman!"

"What? Where?" Connie opened her eyes and took a sharp intake of breath.

"Opal's here!"

Connie exhaled.

Impossibly tall, four arms and two eyes. A pale lavender tint to her skin and white hair flowing behind her, locked in a ponytail and an undeniable contribute of Amethyst. Pursed lips, gems on her chest and forehead, and baby blue eyes that were reminiscent of Pearl's. There she stood, her head barely peeking over the side of the cliff and her body silhouetted by the cascading colors of sunset on the beach. Steven stood on the cliffs edge: black-haired, a light maroon shirt, and his signature sandals, even in the cold. Connie looked down at her glasses in her hand.

She was only allowed to swear once a month, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. "What the fuck…?"

"Swear." Steven turned back to Connie, "Connie! You're not wearing your glasses! You're missing Opal!"

Steven sat down beside her.

"Steven, I…"

Steven tilted his head.

"I can see."

He blinked. "What?"

Connie held her hand to her heart and felt a heat rise in her face. "I can see! I can see without my glasses! Look!"

Connie gave the glasses to Steven, then turned to the landscape.

"The sun is setting, Drake is flying past the sunset and from here he looks so small. There's a pod of dolphins all the way down there…" Connie began to feel streaks of heat down her face, "I couldn't even see them with my glasses, and now…" Connie paused, not even bothering to wipe her tears, and turned to Steven. "Did you heal me?"

"I…" Steven looked down at his hands, "But how?"

"The lollipop." Connie said at once.

"The lollipop, Steven! You don't have healing tears-"

Steven picked up on what Connie was saying before she could finish, and as the epiphany became apparent, he turned to the beach, toward the sky.

"I HAVE HEALING SPIT!"

**Thank you all for reading this story thus far, and this story is far from over. I will, however, be taking a short hiatus to get the rest of the story in order, such as plotting out important scenes and dialogue for the future. I have many things already planned for this, including a sequel and several spin-offs to expand on this world and this story. I will take the time to expand on characters who I feel needed more screentime and development, and as you have probably noticed, while a lot of things are similar I will be changing things up so you don't get bored from reading something that's line for line from the show.**

**This series will contain a large amount of OC character's later on, and some character's personalities or histories may deviate to make a darker, perhaps more telling story. Remember that, at any time, you can message me with any ideas you have for characters or plot lines, and I just might include them, with your approval of course. Also, be sure to check out the List of Gem Terminologies, as I have been updating it frequently. Feel free to ask any questions or voice any concerns you may have.**


	13. Fryman brothers adventures

It was late.

Far too late, as far as Peedee Fryman was concerned. The stars littered the inky black sky and the new moon was hidden beneath a veil of darkness. The weather called for heavy snow that night, but the young teen hoped that wasn't the case; it was only October, and he didn't want the snows to come until the winter; quite frankly, he didn't want them to come at all. Luck, it seemed, wasn't on his side.

His eyes darted back and forth between the continuous snowfall, never focusing on one snowflake for long until another one sparkled and caught his attention. This was how he'd kept busy for the first hour of their stakeout, but the activity was quickly losing its charm.

Peedee wasn't alone. His older, and quite bigger, brother Ronaldo had been the one to drag him out of bed and onto the beach, hidden behind a large boulder as they watched the beach house that belonged to some of the strangest beings in Beach City.

"Can we go home?" Peedee begged. Still in his night clothes, the autumn chill cut deeper than ever.

Ronaldo shushed him.

Peedee flinched as a bat dove dangerously close to their heads. "It's freezing!"

"Be quiet!" Ronaldo urged his younger brother, "I can't hear!"

Peedee whistled through the gap in his teeth. "It's snowing…"

Ronaldo scoffed, "Duh! It's _winter!"_

Peedee gave a huff of his own. "Technically it's only autumn…"

Ronaldo lowered his binoculars just long enough to say. "That's just what they want you to think!"

"Uh. Who's 'they'?" Ronaldo didn't respond, and so Peedee continued to pester. "And why do they care what season it is?"

Ronaldo shushed him again. "There it is!"

Peedee pulled out his own pair of binoculars from the bag Ronaldo had packed, and looked through them.

"Oh wow." He said, unimpressed, "Steven's lion."

The great beast had been sleeping under Steven's porch for nearly a month at that point, and Peedee had grown used to seeing it wander around in all its powerful, pink glory.

Ronaldo paid no mind to his brother's disinterest. "Look!"

Peedee rolled his eyes, but heeded his brothers urging tone. He saw the great beast in the water- no, no in, _on. _Still unimpressed, Peedee said, "It always does that, Ronaldo."

"Yeah!" Ronaldo agreed, "Isn't that the least bit suspicious?"

Peedee shrugged. "I guess."

Ronaldo finally put down the binoculars and looked his brother in the eyes with a suspicious gleam. "Why aren't you suspicious?"

Peedee shrugged. "I've had about three months to come to terms with the fact that one of my closest friend's family is a group of alien refugees. I just don't ask questions anymore."

"Yeah, well…" Ronaldo pursed his lips and struggled to find a response, "The lion's new! And so's the crystal basilisk!"

"That's just Drake. He guards some super secret healing fountain that Steven's mom made."

"The fountain of youth…" Ronaldo whispered under his breath, then quickly gained volume, "It all makes sense now!"

"Uh." Peedee stared, "It does?"

Ronaldo clapped his hands together in a loud sound that echoed in the silent night. "Look at the facts, Peedee! They're _aliens!_ From _outer space!"_

Peedee rolled his eyes. "That's generally where aliens come from."

"They've been in Beach City since before our grandfather's grandfather!"

"Again, aliens. Probably age a lot slower…" Peedee longed for the warm embrace of his bed.

Ronaldo turned to the sky and raised a fist, as if he had just made some miraculous discovery. "They have to be using that fountain to channel the power of eternal youth!"

"Or maybe they're just immortal." Peedee offered.

Ronaldo scoffed. "Immortality doesn't _exist, _Peedee. Ugh, I thought you were smarter than that. Who is filling your mind with such lies?"

"Um." Peedee debated whether or not to answer, "Steven."

"Ah, yes." Ronaldo cast a sidelong glance at nothing, "Their captive."

"He's uh, not a captive Ronnie. He's like, their nephew or something I think."

"Puh-lease! The Rock People don't have family."

Peedee groaned. "Again with the _rock people?!"_

"We must _liberate _him!"

"He could literally leave any time he wants."

"For freedom!"

"I mean it, any time."

"He's trapped! Poor, pathetic, weak Steven is trapped!"

"No he's not!" Peedee blinked, "He's right there!"

Peedee pointed as the door to the beach house opened and Steven stepped outside. Ronaldo picked up his binoculars to get a better view, but Peedee didn't bother. There wasn't anything interesting to see. It seemed Steven called out to the lion, and the lion called back with a gruff roar.

"They're communicating!"

Peedee banged his head gently against the rock, "Kill me now…"

"Later, Peedee! I'm listening!"

A few more calls were exchanged between the lion and human, before the lion jumped off the surface of the water and hurried across the sand to the wooden steps, where Steven held the door open in invitation.

"No you fool!" Ronaldo's sudden shout made Peedee flinch abruptly, "He's gonna kill you!"

"Jesus Ronaldo!"

The lion passed casually by Steven into the house and Steven did the same, closing the door behind him. Seconds later, the lights went off inside.

"There! He's asleep! Can we go now?"

Ronaldo hummed loudly, then roughly shoved his binoculars into the bag. "Yes, Peedee. We have other places to be."

"Whoopee." Peedee said with a monotonous voice, "I hope it's 'home'."

* * *

The next day, Ronaldo and Peedee were staking out the town. Peedee was exhausted; they had gone home after their expedition at Steven's house, but at the crack of dawn Ronaldo had dragged him right back out into the cold to watch for any suspicious activities as the town began to wake up. The most interesting thing they had seen so far was Jenny Pizza sneaking out of her bedroom window and into her boyfriend's car, speeding away before her family was any the wiser. Peedee was quickly growing restless.

"Ronaldo, can't we go watch Steven again? At least interesting things happen when we're watching him."

"No." Ronaldo said, "We can't watch them too much or they'll get suspicious." His eyes darted back and forth, "Keep your eye out for the snerson prince…"

"You mean Onion?"

"Peedee, Peedee, Peedee." Ronaldo shook his head, "Poor, naive Peedee. That's not his real name."

"I'm pretty sure it is; that's what his mom named him."

"That's what they tell us." Ronaldo's eyes darkened, "Dear brother of mine, you deserve to know the truth."

"And the truth is?"

"She's… The Mother…"

Peedee sighed. "She's a mother.

"NO! She's The Mother! The Brood Mother! By day she may look human, but by night, she is also human. But what you don't know is she isn't human!"

Peedee was completely lost.

"She's only wearing the skin, but underneath the skin, she is the Serson Queen! And in the night while you rest your sleepy head into dreamland, she's breeding an unstoppable army of elfish sneeple!"

Peedee groaned loudly. "Again with the 'sneeple army'? They don't exist, Ronaldo!"

"They do! And I have proof!"

"I don't wanna see your proof."

"Yes," Ronaldo pondered, "It's far too open out here; the sneeple might be listening. Great catch, Peedee!" He ruffled Peedee's hair, "But I'm-"

"Gonna tell me anyway?"

"Gonna tell you anyway!" Ronaldo finished, "I have reason to believe that this new species of sneeple larvae are even more powerful than the last. Ask me how."

"No-"

"I'll tell you how! I have spies in the sky, and in the ground, and in the town in the form of sneeple hybrid spies, right?"

"Right… you mean Sourcream don't you?"

"Maybe! Anyway, he says-"

"If he's a snerson," Peedee interrupted, "Why is he your inside man?"

"He's not a full snerson, he's only a half snerson. His human half is way more prominent! Common knowledge, really."

"Yeah. Common knowledge." Peedee had no choice but to play along, "Now, how is this brood stronger than the last?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Ronaldo spoke far too loud, "I have reason to believe that the purple rock person has been visiting the Snerson Queen on a nightly basis, and that my inside man has heard suggestive noises coming from inside-"

"RONALDO! Too much information!"

Ronaldo went right on without stopping, "If she's breeding with the Snerson Queen, then by reason of deduction, she must be the leader of the rock people and they have made an alliance to form an even more unstoppable army of rock people and snerson hybrids! I call them rockles."

"Hey, there's your snerson prince."

Ronaldo turned around and gasped at the sudden presence of Onion as he emerged suddenly from under a bench, wearing the same clothes he seemed to wear every day with a baseball bat strapped onto his back. Onion, it seemed, was on a mission, for the moment he stepped into the open he broke into a fast walk toward a group of boys congregating by the docks.

"Aren't those the kids who bullied Steven?"

Ronaldo put his hands on his hips. "Makes sense. Sneeple have a severe aversion to jerks."

Onion strolled right up to the boys, and it took them a while to even notice he was there. Peedee pulled out his binoculars to observe.

Onion was making vague gestures, clearing asking something of the boys but it quickly became apparent they had no idea what he was babbling about. They said something to him, and though Onion didn't flinch the threat was clear. The only movement Onion made was to reach behind his back and pull it out in a swift motion, bringing it down hard on the middle teens knee. Peedee flinched at the impact.

Immediately, while the other two stood there dumbly, only reached into the crippled boys pocket and stole his wallet before running off past the Fryman brothers.

"Run, Forrest, run." Ronaldo called as the younger boy ran by.

The moment the teen was able to stand, he gave chase, and his lakies followed suit. "Get that little shit!"

"Should we call someone?" Peedee looked to his brother.

"Too late."

Peedee soon saw what Ronaldo meant when Vidalia bust through the door of her house, her great brute of a dog pulling on the lead she held in one arm, and her other arm holding a loaded shotgun. The dozens of cats in her yard scattered to various hiding places as she ran through her yard in an unbridled rage, the lit cigarette between her teeth giving a puff of smoke.

"Get the fuck away from my boy!"

The teen who had been the target of the assault turned to face her, ready to argue, only to throw his hands up in the air at the sight of both deadly weapons she held.

"Woah, easy lady!"

Onion dove under their legs and ran to his mother; the loyal dog barely flinched as he passed by. He was too busy growling at the aggressors and showing his teeth as a warning.

"I just want my wallet back!"

Vidalia knelt down to pick up her son in the same arm she held her shotgun, never once lowering her aim. Onion came willingly, hiding his head and most of his body in the crook of her arm.

"Onion." She asked politely, "Did you take this boy's wallet?"

Onion shook his head.

"Well there you have it; he ain't got it."

"That little fucker hit me in the knees!" The leader snarled.

"One, don't call my son a little fucker, you little fucker. Secondly, how can you prove it?"

"I have witnesses!" He pointed to the Fryman brothers.

Vidalia turned just enough to look at them. "You boy see anything?"

Ronaldo shook his head, "I didn't see anything!"

"Me neither!" Peedee concurred.

"Good." She turned to the group, "Now run along, rich boy, before I call the cops." she spit out her cigarette and stomped it into the ground.

The leader scoffed. "Come on; this isn't even worth it."

With that, the boys departed. Vidalia uncocked her gun and sat her son back on the ground, all the while holding onto her dog. The brute seemed to calm now danger was passed, and seemed like any normal dog, as if it hadn't just been prepared to rip some poor kids arm off.

"Give."

Onion reached into his pocket and pulled out the same wallet he had just stolen, reaching into all the pockets and pulling a wad of cash and several credit cards, handing them off to his mother who tucked them into her own pocket. She gave her son the lead (a terrible idea, Peedee thought, because that dog could easily do great harm to the boy) and gave him a gentle swat on the bum "Now go on and burn the evidence."

Onion was happy to oblige, and disappeared behind his house. Vidalia straightened up, gave her back a stretch, and walked confidently over to the observing brothers.

"Thanks for keeping it quiet." She winked, and then reached into her pocket to produce two five dollar bills,

Peedee and Ronaldo both nodded and quickly pocketed the money. The moment Vidalia went back inside her house and closed the door behind her, Peedee turned to his brother.

"I freaking love this town."

* * *

The rest of that day was spent scouring Beach City for mysteries, which Ronaldo seemed to spot in the very air he breathed; from claiming the illuminati was spying on them via drones designed to look like animals, to the streaks of clouds in the sky being chemical trails designed to control the masses, to many of the inhabitants of the town being some sort of creature in disguise. Eventually, Ronaldo's insane ranting lead the two brothers to the lighthouse that sat on the hill overlooking the beach.

"Some say it's haunted," Ronaldo said as they approached the tall structure; I myself have seen many strange occurrences happening inside."

"I'm sure you have, Ronaldo." Of all of Ronaldo's crazy conspiracies, the haunted lighthouse was the only one Peedee truly believed in, because there had been rumors surrounding the building since before Ronaldo was born, and it was one of the few conspiracies that had surrounded the town since its founding.

"Thus it's a great place to search for spirits." Ronaldo went on, "And no one will disturb my work because they're too scared to go inside."

The dull paint of the abandoned lighthouse was peeling from the walls, and many patches were nothing but exposed stone, after not having a fresh coat applied for nearly a hundred years. The door was old and rotting, and the windows were barred shut from the inside with cardboard boxes and slabs of wood. Ronaldo grabbed the door and threw it open.

"Feast your eyes on this!"

"I can't; it's too dark."

"Oh, yeah." Ronaldo reached into the darkness and, with a subtle click, a dim light flicked to life.

"Feast your eyes!"

It wasn't anything Peedee hadn't expected; old, dusty, and littered with old boxes and furniture that seemed older than most of the buildings in Beach City.

"Does Mayor Dewey know we're here, or are we breaking and entering?" Peedee asked.

"He gave me the keys!" Ronaldo proclaimed.

"Willingly?"

"Yes."

Peedee sighed as he followed his brother inside. The air was thick and musty with the stink of mildew, and broken glass crunched under his feet with every step he took. The walls of the room were shrouded in shadow, for the light wasn't strong enough to illuminate the farthest reaches, and it gave an even more haunting reality to an already terrifying situation.

"Listen Ronaldo," Peedee began, carefully choosing his words. "I appreciate that you want to hang out with me, and I know that I said I wanted to spend more time with you, but I didn't expect this. I thought maybe we'd go to Funland, or to the arcade, or maybe mix up our diet and get a slice from Fish to Pizza! Not this."

Ronaldo's expression fell. "Do you not like hanging out with me?"

"Of course I like hanging out with you!" Peedee quickly objected, "You're my brother! And I'm used to your conspiracies, but I thought we would do something together for a change. Instead, you've just been dragging me around like a puppy on a leash!"

"I thought you liked my conspiracies…" Ronaldo whimpered, then threw a fist up in the air, though there was no emotion behind it, "The truth, ya know…"

"I do!" Peedee said, then added, "But like, moderation man."

Ronaldo crossed his arms and turned away. "I see how it is. If you don't want to see what I have for you, you can just go home."

"It's not like that, Ronaldo." Peedee insisted, "Of course I want to see what you have."

"Great!" Ronaldo immediately went back to his same, hyper self. He seized Peedee by the wrist, "Come on, little bro!"

Ronaldo pulled him all the way through the darkened room, each floorboard giving a dangerous creaking under their weight, and up the spiraling stairs with equally threatening planks. Peedee felt as if he would fall through at any time, all the way down to the bottom, and the higher they went the more nervous he became, until the steps eventually ended, leading into a wide, open space with no walls, only windows surrounding them on all sides. In the center of the circle room was a long-dead device that, though Peedee had never seen one before, could be assumed to be where the light used to come from in the night. That was the first thing that caught Peedee's gaze, before everything else faded into view.

"Ta da!"

A fresh coat of paint lined the walls, a bright white with streaks of uneven gold at random intervals; just looking at it made Peedee flinch under the unnerving, leaning effect it had, but he tried his best to ignore it. At the far end of the room, facing the sea, was a large set of table pressed together, and on the table were two matching laptops, both of which Peedee recognized as Ronaldo's (mostly due to the great amount of malware and pop-ups), one from that recent Christmas and the other from years ago. Two walkie talkies, one on each side, and multiple sets of tapes stacked in what Peedee assumed to be Ronaldo's side, labeled with all sorts of things Peedee didn't bother to read.

Two chairs, one spinny and one not, and a rug underneath the whole setup. Looking around at the rest of the room, Peedee saw a row of cupboards, clearly recently installed, of bright burgundy wood. They were all nailed into the wall, but judging by the many other holes littering them, it had taken Ronaldo a long time to get them just right (even though they were still very crooked). Where the cupboards ended was an old tv, plugged into a nearby generator (or what Peedee could only assume to be), and even more video tapes stacked neatly nearby, with an old camera present beside them.

"Awesome!" Peedee breathed out.

"It is pretty cool." Ronaldo sounded pleased with himself, "This way, we can work together and solve all the mysteries of the world!"

Peedee made an immediate beeline toward the cabinets and opened them, far too curious of their insides to deny himself any longer. Chips and candy cakes, bags of cheesy popcorn and pretzels, and even some canned goods, all labeled with either an R or a P.

"Woah…" Peedee immediately reached for the Doritos labeled P.

"I know you don't like people touching your food." Ronaldo went on in the background, "So I got us two of everything, so we didn't have to share."

Peedee's heart gave a little flutter. "Oh, that's so sweet." He didn't immediately open the bag, but held it at his side.

Peedee continued to look around, and finally took the time to closely read what each VHS was labelled; most of them were labelled 'evidence', 1 to 12. Others had dates, or times, or places written on them, and some were impossible to make out because of the sheer age of them. They all, surprisingly, seemed to be in good shape.

"So…" Ronaldo said, "What do you think?"

Peedee thought for a while, then he shook his head and pulled his brother into a hug. "I love it!"


	14. Meet the Mahaswarens

It was what Steven would consider a normal day.

Pearl was on the palm of the temple doing Steven's laundry, and Steven was meant to be studying, though he quit doing that the moment Pearl had warped away. He was too hungry to focus on his textbook, anyway, and it wasn't like he ever got any tests. Spinel and Amethyst were watching TV on Steven's bed, the former of the two playing with a pink sticky toy in brief intervals. Garnet, Steven knew, had been down in the temple basement since the night before. He wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but Pearl had told him that she would be in there for quite a while.

Steven decided on a bowl of cereal. He opened the cabinet, barely acknowledging Onion inside clutching a bag of chips in one hand and the desired bag of Cheerios in the other. When Onion offered the cereal, Steven grabbed it slowly and said, "Thanks Onion." Before closing the cabinet.

He poured a generous amount into his bowl and reached for the fridge and the milk inside, but before he could finish the act, he flinched at the sudden, jarring ring of the house phone. Normally, he would have just silenced the ringer, or else just ignored it and kept doing what he was doing, but that was before he met Connie. Now, when any call could be hers, he was upon the phone by the first or second ring, and his heart warmed his chest when he recognized the number. He answered it immediately.

"Hi Connie!"

"Steven, we have a problem."

Steven was shocked by the tense nature radiating from his friends voice. "Is everything okay Connie?" The warmth in his heart turned to a racing beat.

"Physically, yes, but my parent's want to meet yours."

Steven thought, and then he said, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes!" Connie sounded frantic, "They said I can't see you anymore until they meet your parents!"

"Well, I'm sure my dad would-"

"Both of your parents!"

That silenced Steven for longer than he cared to think about, before he shook his head and said, "Uh, the gems can do a lot of stuff, but I don't think they can bring back the dead."

It was hard to tell over the phone, but Connie seemed to be delving deeper and deeper into panic, "I told them you had a nuclear family…"

Steven recognized the term but couldn't for the life of him recall what it meant, "What's that mean?" He asked.

Connie took a shaky breath and took her time responding. "It means a family that consists of a mother, a mother, and their child and or children."

"But that's not true…" Steven said, "My mom disappeared to let me exist."

"I know!"

"You lied?"

"Yes! So I could keep hanging out with you. I want to keep hanging out with you… my dad knows that your family isn't exactly normal, but my mom doesn't, and it's her I'm mostly worried about. She's obsessed with the idea of a perfect family..."

Steven got suddenly defensive, "My family is perfect, Connie!"

"I know it is Steven, but… not the way my mom sees it. I'm sorry…"

Steven opened his mouth to comfort her, but stopped when he heard a second, more demanding voice come through the receiver, clearly audible above the rest of the background noise, though the words said by the voice were not.

"It's just Steven mom," Connie said, and her words seemed aimed at the woman's voice on her side.

There were clicks and stuttering sounds as the phone was snatched from Connie's hand, and the second voice spoke through loud and clear; so loud, in fact, that Steven flinched away from the receiver when they spoke.

"Hello, is this Steven Universe?"

Steven dared put the receiver close enough to say, "Uh, yes." Then quickly pulled it away before the woman could respond; by now, the TV was turned down low and it was clear that both Spinel and Amethyst were listening in.

"This is Priyanka Mahaswaren; Connie's mother."

"Oh, hi Mrs. Mahaswaren," It was Steven's first time talking to her, and already he was starting to dislike her, but he tried to shake the feeling away.

"That's _doctor_ to you."

"Sorry, Dr. Mahaswaren!"

Spinel and Amethyst began to make faces in silent mocking of Connie's mother, and it took all Steven had not to join in.

"Well, put your mother on the phone." Priyanka said after a long pause, "I'm not waiting here for nothing."

"Uhh." Steven looked around as panic set in. The first option that appeared in his mind was Garnet, and then Pearl, but they were a locked door and a warp pad away. He couldn't trust Amethyst or Spinel with something so fragile and delicate, and he doubted that Priyanka would appreciate the way either of them spoke anyway. He quickly thought of a third option and said, "She's not home right now, I can take a message."

"Hmm…" Priyanka seemed suspicious of something, "Well what about your father is he home?"

Steven shook his head, "Nuh uh, he's at work."

"They just left you there alone?"

Panic began to grow again, and Steven quickly said, "No, I'm here with my two older sisters!"

"And how much older are they than you?"

Steven tried to think of a plausible answer. "14 and 16, ma'am."

Priyanka scoffed. "They're just babies themselves! I should like to have a word with the woman who leaves her three children home alone and unattended. Tell her to give a call back when she decides to show up and be a mother."

"Okay. Bye-"

Priyanka hung up before Steven could finish.

Amethyst gave a long, very over exaggerated whistle. "What a stuck up bi-"

"Language!" Spinel scolded, giving Amethyst a gentle swat on the nose.

Amethyst scoffed. "What am I, a baby?"

"Well you might as well be." Spinel said, "You're just over 5,000 years old, still a baby to me!"

"Okay, grandma!"

"Would you two stop bickering for two seconds?" Steven hadn't noticed the warp pad activate, and was shocked to hear Pearl's voice as she suddenly appeared in his room, making her way up to his loft with both arms full of clean, folded clothes. "Steven, who was that on the phone anyway?"

Steven tried to say it was Connie's mother, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was, "I NEED A MOTHER!"

Pearl was immediately confused, but Spinel and Amethyst understood, so they explained the situation to Pearl when Steven couldn't force himself to. By the end of it, an idea sparked into life in Pearl's eyes and she seemed excited.

"Oh! I could be your mother, Steven!"

Steven shook his head, "No, Connie said it would be a dinner thing, and you don't eat."

Pearl seemed to deflate. "Oh. Well… I could eat if I really wanted to…"

Spinel scoffed at that. "You are food? Amethyst would be more likely to give up food than you would be to eat it!"

Pearl put a hand on her hip. "Well I'm sorry if I don't see the appeal of chewing up edible items into a disgusting mess and then swallowing it and putting it into my body."

"Yet you drink tea."

"Tea doesn't involve chewing, Spinel."

"What!" Spinel seemed genuinely insulted, "Chewing is the best part! Getting all the flavor."

"Yeah." Amethyst agreed, "I mean, what favor could you possibly get from hot leaf juice?"

"It's healthy and energizing!" Pearl argued, "and I can feed its healing properties directly into my gem."

"Can do that with food too, P…" Amethyst remarked.

Pearl crossed her arms. "Then maybe if you eat more nutritious food you might actually be energized for once."

"Not exactly my style."

"Stop arguing!" Steven said finally, and his decision was easy, "I want Garnet to be my pretend mom, she eats and drinks," That was directed toward Pearl, "but she isn't a total snob about it." That was aimed at Amethyst.

Pearl gave a defeated huff, but argued no farther. "Very well. I'll go get Garnet."

She conveyed herself in a regal manner as she passed, carrying her weight effortlessly on the tips of her toes to give her that slight height advantage over Spinel. Her gem glowed in unison with the identical one on the temple door, and it opened in her presence. Steven wished, just once, he was allowed past its gates.

When Pearl reemerged with Garnet at her side, the first thing Garnet said was, "I understand I need to be your mother for a day."

Pearl danced gracefully away from the leader and faded into the background along with Amethyst and Spinel.

Steven nodded fervently. "Otherwise I'll never get to see Connie again!"

Garnet held up her hand, and Steven fell silent immediately. Once Garnet was happy with the quiet, she held out her hand and said, "Give me the phone."

Steven listened immediately, still holding the phone, and passed it over to Garnet. She dialed the number without even having to ask; it seemed she already knew it by heart, without having typed it even once more. She held it up to her ear and waited.

"Yes. This is mom Universe." Garnet didn't flinch away from the receiver, as Steven had when he first heard Priyanka, but Steven could still just barely hear the muffled conversation on the other end. "Yes, Steven Universe's mother. Rose Universe, It's a pleasure to talk to you." She was silent for an amount of time. "Yes, I am aware. I only stepped out to get some last minute ingredients for a late minute lunch change; we are having spinach spaghettini. Yes, that works out perfectly, my husband gets off work soon. Perfect. Goodbye." Garnet hung up the phone.

"I panicked." She said simply.

"You did great!" Steven assured, then added silently: _I think._

Garnet handed Steven the phone. "Call Greg. We are having dinner at the Golden Apple Diner at 6."

"Yay!" Steven leaped into Garnet's arms, and she was ready for him. "Thanks Garnet!"

"That's all well and good," Pearl said, interrupting the moment, "But don't you have to count the rest of the… you know."

Garnet shook her head. "No, I finished counting hours ago."

"What?" Garnet didn't respond, and Pearl went on, "Then what were you doing down there all that time?"

"Thinking."

Garnet sat Steven on the ground. Everyone around him fell silent, sharing darkened looks of a shared secret; all except Amethyst, who stretched and said, "I'm headed to bed."

Steven's gaze followed her until she disappeared through the temple door. Then, he turned back to everyone else. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine Steven." Pearl said softly.

Steven didn't believe her, but gave a gentle, "Okay, then dialed the only other number he knew. His dad picked up almost immediately.

"Hey Stewball!"

The joy in his father's voice was enough to melt away all the bad feeling in the room.

"Hi dad!" Steven did his best to fill his father in as best he could, and when he finished, his dad gave a long whistle as he processed all the information thrown at him.

"Yeah, I think I can make it. I get off at 5."

"That works out great then!" Steven exclaimed, then remembered something else, "Oh, also, you have to pretend to be married to Garnet."

"Oh. We don't have to kiss, right?"

"No," Steven reassured, "But you do have to call her Rose though."

"That's… gonna be a bit awkward."

"It's only for tonight." Steven said, "And it's so I can keep hanging out with Connie. Please?"

Greg gave a heavy sigh, "Anything for you, Steven."

* * *

That night, Steven was more nervous than he had ever been before. Heat flooded into his hands and feet, making them sweat relentlessly, and making the rest of him surprisingly cold. The rest of him was sweating too, no matter how many deep breaths he tried to take and how many times he wiped his brow. They were already a few minutes late, and though he tried to voice his concerns to his dad, or to Garnet, he found his mouth too dry to do more than focus on his breathing. Greg told the greeter they were there with the Mahaswaren family, and he brought them toward a booth at the back of the fancy restaurant.

Steven recognized Connie immediately, even in the dim light. She had sat picking at the table until she happened to look up and see Steven, and her eyes lit up like stars in the night. Steven gave a feeble wave, all he could manage, and Connie returned it. She sat sandwiched between two adults, a man with a pleasant face and an aging woman with what seemed to be a permanent scowl. She was sitting on the end, and when she saw the approaching group, she stood and held out her hand to Garnet.

"Rose Universe I presume?"

Garnet took her hand and shook it, "Yes, and I'm to assume you're Dr. Priyanka Mahaswaren?"

Priyanka's gaze lit up much like her daughters and her lips curved into the slightest hint of a smile. "Quite right."

Connie and her father both slid out after Priyanka. The father raised shook Greg's, and then Garnet's.

"It's nice to meet you." Connie's father piped up in friendly tone. "I'm Doug Mahaswaren."

"Nice to meet you as well." Greg responded. "I'm Greg Universe."

Priyanka placed both hands on her daughter's shoulders and said, "And of course you know our daughter."

Garnet inclined her head. "Of course. Your daughter is a very smart young girl, and now I see just where she got it from."

"Enough with the flattery." The smile turned back into a scowl.

Garnet didn't respond, and fixed Priyanka with a similar scowl. Luckily, Doug quickly diverted everyone's attention.

"Shall we sit?"

Garnet lowered her heat, "Yes. We shall."

They all sat down on opposite sides of the booth.

"You do know," Priyanka started before they had even settled down, "that is is impolite to wear sunglasses inside?"

Under the table, Steven could see Garnet's right hand clench into a fist. "I have a condition. With my eyes."

"I see." Priyanka sounded unconvinced. "Photophobia or chronic migraines?"

"Photophobia."

Pyronika only hummed. She then hailed over a server, and everyone placed their drink orders and received their menus. Steven was sure to be extra polite, partially because he was trying to impress Connie's parents, but mostly because he didn't want her to tamper with his food when it came time to order; he was already having a bad feeling about Priyanka's harsh attitude toward the server.

"So." Steven looked to his father as Greg struggled to make conversation, "You seem to know a lot about eye conditions. Are you an optometrist?"

Priyanka barely acknowledged him. "I'm a doctor of medicine at Goldcrest hospital. My husband here is a security guard."

That seemed to pique Greg's interest. "Oh! Have you got any good stories?"

Doug's eyes lit up with a familiar gleam that Steven recognized; Connie's eyes would glare much the same when she was ecstatic or eager to share. Doug's face split into a wide smile and he broke into a long, dramatic recount of a recent burglary that he had been assigned to. Steven zoned out half way through and tried to focus on finding anything on the menu that was decent and cheap; in the end, he settled for some chicken strips and a side of fries.

Steven looked to Connie; though the preteen had her face stuck in the menu, her eyes told she wasn't taking in any of the information. Stationary, non-moving, and lacking their usual glint of life. His eyes also shifted over her glasses; he had been with her the day after her eyes were healed when she couldn't stand the contacts anymore, and she obviously couldn't tell her parents, so together they had decided what to do. Now, the non-contact lenses were in the place of her old ones, in the same frame, and it was impossible to tell the difference.

Their drinks arrived just as Doug finished up his story. He took a drink of his ice tea and said, "So, what do you do for a living?"

Steven stiffened up, and so did Greg when he realized all eyes were on him. He pulled on the collar of his shirt, eyes darting across the table and an anxious laugh being the only thing he could manage to do. Steven gave him a pleading look.

"You know," Greg said finally, "Little of this, little of that. My wife here's the breadwinner, really."

"Oh?" Priyanka raised a brow at Garnet, "And what is it that you do?"

Garnet answered with the confidence of a woman (or genderless alien) that had nothing to lose. "I'm an actor, and a model. It's pretty good pay."

Priyanka seemed to draw back at Garnet's response, but Doug did the exact opposite, latching onto any possible conversation. "Well, I can see you came straight from set!" He motioned to her outfit, the purplish-red color of her skin, and her expertly styled hair.

"Yes." Garnet responded coolly, "I was called in for what was meant to be a quick session but we went a little over time and I'm afraid I didn't have time to change."

The server arrived at the time, and everyone placed their orders. The moment the server was out of range, Priyanka broke the silence, "I wasn't aware Beach City had a film crew."

"Oh yes, this particular one is very small budget, but it does pay the bills."

Steven was relieved when their food finally came, and he could busy himself with something other than listening to Doug and Greg's nonstop gossip, or to Garnet and Priyanka unending, passive-aggressive quarrels. Immediately, however, he noticed Doug frowning down at his salad. It seemed Priyanka noticed it too.

"What's wrong?" She demanded.

"Nothing," Doug said without any true convincing nature in his voice, "It's just that I ordered a tofu substitute, but they gave me actual chicken."

Priyanka's expression darkened.

"But it's fine!" Doug insisted, "I'll just pick around it…"

Priyanka was having none of that, however, and seized her husband's plate with one hand, and snapping the fingers of her free hand. The waiter was busy with another table, and Steven could clearly see it, but Priyanka's demands only became more insistent until the server excused herself and came over.

"Finally!" Priyanka said; it looked af if Doug would rather die in that moment than face his wife's antics. "I don't understand what took you so long."

"What seems to be the problem?" The server asked nicely.

"My husband here order tofu chicken, and you gave him actual chicken. He can't eat this because of his beliefs, and quite frankly I believe we should have our meal comped for this incident."

The server looked dead inside, but her service voice never faltered. "Terribly sorry, ma'am. As for it being comped, I'm afraid I'll have to talk to my manager." She looked to Doug and her voice shifted to a more genuine tone, "I'll have this fixed right away, sir."

"Thank you." Doug breathed out.**  
**

The moment the server left them, Priyanka spat out, "Amateur."

"It's not her fault, babe." Doug said softly, "It's the kitchens…"

"Well they should be competent enough to make sure there's no chicken in a vegan salad."

Doug didn't respond. He reached past Connie, trying to be sly about snatching a tomato from his wife's plate, but was met with a harsh slap. He retracted, held his arm to his body, and then pouted as he held his hand.

This time, ot was Greg's turn to make conversation. "So how did you and Priyanka meet?"

Doug brightened right up, but it was Priyanka who spoke, "Doug here got himself blown up on one of his stakeouts; I was his ER nurse."

Doug scoffed. "Sure, that was how we got together, but that isn't how we met."

Priyanka raised a brow.

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Doug turned to Greg, "There was this party right, musta been, what, twenty years ago? To this day, it has to be the biggest party I've ever seen. Loud too, with no concern for anyone around it."

Priyanka's eyes began to light up in remembrance.

"Anyway, I wasn't at this party. No, I was driving past it on my motorcycle. Musta been fifteen or sixteen at the time. Anyway, so I was driving past when I saw these red, blue, and white sirens, you know? So, naturally, I stop to see what the commotion is. And apparently, this woman here saw her opportunity and took it. Next thing I know there's a strange teenager on the back of my ride telling me to floor it. So what do I so? I floor it!"

Greg, Connie, and Steven began laughed.

"Anyway, so this girl gives me her address, and I drop her off at home, right? She's flat out drunk, and she gives me her number and says to call her sometime. So I did! And she didn't answer! So I tried again. No answer. After the third or fourth time, I got the hint."

"Man, I wish Rose and I had some great story like that." Greg said, "We met on the beach. I was going through a rockstar phase back then, and she just happened to come to one of my shows. We… hit it off like we'd known each other our… entire lives…" Greg wiped a tear from his eye, "Sorry. Just… a pleasant memory, is all."

Steven became aware of tears brewing in his own eyes, and he did his best to blink them away before anyone saw.

The waiter returned with Doug's new plate and placed it before him. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Doug said politely.

The server turned to Priyanka. I had a word with my manager, and sadly we can't comp your entire meal, but we can comp his and offer you a free dessert for the trouble."

Priyanka scoffed. "Ugh. I don't want it."

Steven watched the scene play out longingly and whispered, "I want it…"

The server waited as Doug checked over his salad. "Yup, no chicken. Thank you very much."

"There," Priyanka said in a sickly sweet voice, "Now, was that so hard?"

"I apologize, ma'am." The server carried on, "Is there anything else?"

"No."

The server nodded and departed.

"You shouldn't criticize someone for doing their job…" Garnet said in a soft, low voice.

"What was that?"

Garnet repeated herself louder.

Priyanka crossed her arms. "I can criticize anyone I want if their job isn't done right."

Steven felt extremely uncomfortable, and it was clear that everyone else at the table shared his misfortune.

"So, was it a long drive?" Doug asked loudly.

"Not too long." Greg said, "About an hour. Traffic was good."

Doug seemed surprised. "There was traffic?"

"Ah. No."

The rest of that night passed without incident, with Doug and Greg doing most of the talking. Steven wanted desperate to try and talk with Connie, but the possibility of saying something wrong and risking their friendship was enough to keep him as quiet as a mouth; Connie seemed to have the same thought, and was just as silent. Steven had never been happier to see a bill when the end of the meal came around.

Priyanka started at Greg with wide eyes. Greg, completely enraptured in conversation, didn't notice until she cleared her throat and nodded toward the bill.

"Oh!" Greg picked up the bill, and quickly flinched at the sight of it. Steven tried to get a glimpse of the price, but Doug was quicker.

"It's okay, I got it! You drove all the way out here to meet us after all!"

Priyanka glared at him the entire time he paid. As they all began to stand up to leave, Greg quickly pulled a few dollars out of his pocket.

"I'll pay the tip."

"No." Priyanka said at once, "They don't deserve a tip."

Greg hesitated. "Huh?"

"She got our order wrong, and frankly, she was a stuck-up broad for the majority of our stay here. She doesn't deserve the tip."

Greg seemed too scared to question the woman, and muttered a half-hearted apology as he went to put the money back in his pocket. Garnet stopped him. She took the money from his hand, and confidently and slowly placed it back on the table. She gave an almost genuine smile to Priyanka; almost.

"We should really get going." Doug stepped in between Priyanka and Garnet, separating the two with his body, "It's getting late, and Connie needs to do her homework."

Something snapped in Priyanka's eyes. "She hasn't already?"

Doug immediately shrank, and so too did his voice, "Well, you know, she did that extra credit, and she studied a little for her test tomorrow, so I figured I could let her have an hour or two of cartoons as a reward."

Priyanka loomed over him like a jackal over a rabbit. "Without consulting me?"

"You were busy typing up that report for work, I didn't want to disturb you."

"That isn't an excuse, Doug."

"Okay, Priyanka, sorry. I'll be sure to ask you next time."

"You better."

Priyanka went to walk away, then immediately turned and came back, holding out her hand. "Keys."

Doug dropped a pair of keys in her hand, and Priyanka strutted off again like a woman with a purpose. Doug turned to his daughter.

"Connie, why don't you say your goodbyes to Steven?"

Connie only nodded. She and Steven exchanged their farewell, ending with a hug, and then both families walked together to the parking lot, where they went their separate ways toward opposite sides of the parking lot.

"I don't like her." Garnet said slowly.

"I don't think any of us did." Steven admitted sheepishly.

"I don't think Doug did." Greg added, and then with a sign kneeled down to Steven's level.

"I'm sorry the night didn't go so well, buddy."

Steven shook his head. "No, it's fine."

"I did my best." Garnet added. "I hope I was an okay mother for a night."

"Of course you were!" Steven insisted, "I couldn't have asked for anyone better."

Garnet smiled, this time a true genuine smile, then frowned again. "We should get going, Greg. There's going to be a crash soon and I want to beat it."

"What?"

"Just go with it."

* * *

Steven waited impatiently near the phone. He had hardly been able to sleep that night, with all the outcomes and possibilities of the fate of his and Connie's friendship dancing in his mind. He knew he hadn't made a good impression on Priyanka, none of them had, and he could only hope that Doug could talk some sense into her.

"Stop pacing, dude." Amethyst said, relaxing carelessly on the back of the sofa like a cat.

"You're making everyone nervous." Said Pearl.

Everyone had gathered to hear whatever news, good or bad, the phone call would bring them.

The phone rang, and Steven leaped at the opportunity to answer it. The rest of the gems sat on the edge of their seat, eagerly awaiting his response. Steven's heart leapt in his chest when he recognized the number, and that started a terribly heavy beating in his heart; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything he recognized either.

"It's Connie!" Steven answered, "Hi Connie!"

"Steven!"

Just the sound of Connie's voice was enough to increase that feeling and the warmth it pumped from his chest to the rest of his body. The voice was happy.

"My parents said we could keep hanging out!" The emotion leaked from Connie's voice and flooded into Steven, "I can come over now, even!"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome!"

"Great! See you there!"

Connie hung up, and Steven turned to face the expectant gems. Garnet had a knowing grin on her face, like she already knew the outcome but had been waiting patiently for Steven to reveal it anyway.

"She's coming over! We can still be friends!"

Everyone erupted into a loud cheer.


	15. Magic mirror

Steven hugged each of the gems in turn.

"Do you really have to go?" Steven whimpered.

Garnet rested a hand on Steven's shoulder when it was her turn to receive his hug. "Yes, Steven. You saw the state the garden was in; we can't begin to imagine the state of all of Rose's other monuments."

"We figured even though Rose was gone, her sacred area would be preserved since her gem lives on in you…" Pearl added.

"We see now we were wrong." Garnet finished.

"But can't I go?" Steven begged, "You said it yourself, I have her gem! I can help!"

"You can help us," Garnet said, "By making sure nothing happens while we're away."

Steven hated to admit it, but it made sense. "Do all of you have to go? Everyone?"

"Yes, Steven." Garnet soothed, "Pearl has the most knowledge of Rose and the places she protected, and we may need Amethyst is such need should arise for mimicry or shapeshifting; she's better at it than any of us. We need Spinel to ensure us safe from the Guardians, and the team needs me to keep them in line, just as we need you here."

"It's far too dangerous anyway!" Pearl exclaimed, "And I'd feel much safer with you being out of harm's way."

"But I can help…" Steven could feel his voice crack.

Garnet placed a cold hand against Steven's cheek. "Be good Steven."

"Yeah!" Amethyst agreed, "And save some food for me dude, I'm gonna be so hungry when I get back."

"Don't be so dramatic." Pearl huffed. "If you ever need anything, Greg is only a phone call away."

"And I brought Drake from the garden to help keep you company!" Spinel added.

At the mention of his name, Drake stood up proud (perched on the top of Steven's loft much like a parrot).

"Which I still think is completely irresponsible." Pearl said, and when she was met with a sharp hiss from the basilisk, she visibly shivered, "But, oh well, it's already been done."

"I've stocked the kitchen with enough food to last a week." Spinel said to Steven.

"Yes, and I hid some extra money in the jar." Pearl gave a flittery laugh,"You know, just in case you wanted to go out and have some fun."

"I didn't do anything, but I'm wishing you the best of luck man." Amethyst added.

"You'd do fine, Steven."

"I know…" Steven admitted.

Pearl looked to Steven, and both shared an unspoken question answered by a subtle nod from Garnet. Pearl then turned to Steven and her baby blue eyes met his dark brown ones.

"Steven, I knew this would upset you, especially on such short notice, so I have something for you."

Steven blinked his eyes to stop the tears before they even arrived, and held out his hands. Pearl closed her eyes and held out her own hand as her gemstone gave a vibrant glow, and from its light materialized a mirror, beautiful and silver. It spun twice while it was entranced by her gem light, showing off an eight-pointed star in its reflection, and on it's back a beautiful blue stone. Then, when the light faded, it landed delicately in Pearl's hand, and then she placed it in Steven's.

"It's an ancient gem artifact." Pearl explained, "It can show you any part of gem history that it's witnessed, and here!" She summoned a long, winding sheet of paper and offered it to Steven. "I've even taken the liberty of writing down a list of possible subjects for you to explore, so you can study while we're away!"

Steven turned the mirror around, to trace his finger along the back. Right in the center was that blue gem, seemingly drilled into the smooth surface with a powerful crack branching down its center and branching out half-way down. Apart from that, everything else about the mirror seemed flawless.

"She's pretty." Steven commented.

"It, Steven." Pearl corrected, "It isn't a person, or a gem, or a boat, it's a thing. Go on, try it out. Ask it to show you something."

Steven considered. "Show me… the Sea Spire."

Nothing happened.

"Steven." Pearl said softly, "It's probably never seen the sea spire! You should have started off smaller; here." She seized the mirror,"We discovered this at the Galaxy Warp, so I _know _it's seen that!" She cleared her voice, "Show me the Galaxy Warp."

Nothing happened.

"Oh come on, I know you've seen it!" She gave the mirror a shake.

"Maybe it's busted?" Amethyst suggested.

Pearl gave a sad sound. "Oh, and I was so excited to give it to you, too! Sorry Steven."

Pearl made to put the beautiful mirror back in her gem, but Steven stopped her.

"Wait!

Pearl looked at him.

"Maybe I can fix Her!" Steven took the mirror back from Pearl and held it close, "Or, maybe not. But she's still pretty."

Pearl only stared. "_It, _Steven."

"Right. It."

Pearl looked back at Garnet, and Garnet only shrugged in response.

"Okay Steven, you can keep it."

Steven beamed. "Thanks Pearl!" Then his smile faded as he looked over all four gems again, "How long will you be gone."

Garnet hesitated. "A while."

"Oh."

Their bodies began to fade into the powerful warp beam. Pearl gave a delicate wave and Spinel gave a much more exaggerated one. Garnet hardly reacted, and Amethyst seemed to over react, shifting in constant motions and acting out her words as she said them.

"Hey, don't worry dude! You got the whole place to yourself!"

Then the light was gone, and they were gone, leaving Steven alone in the dark room, clutching the cold mirror and list that Pearl had left him.

"That's the problem…"

* * *

Steven didn't like the house being so quiet, so to stop that feeling of dreadful loneliness from creeping in, he turned on cartoons to fill the void. It was one of his favorites show, but an episode he'd seen dozens of times before, so his interest was very little. It was instead drawn to the mirror, reflective and unscratched and deserving of his attention.

Drake had taken the liberty of perching himself on the fridge to watch for danger from the elevation, and Steven had let Lion into the house to fill the emptiness with something living; Pearl didn't like any animal in the room, but Pearl wasn't there, so Steven felt he could get away with it. Lion's snores as he slept on the couch helped keep the silence at bay and establish an air of life in Steven's solitude.

Steven looked down at the mirror. "Can you show me the Galaxy warp please?"

The only thing reflected in the lens was his own face staring back.

"That's okay." He went on, "You're shy, I get it! I used to be shy too!"

There was something funny about his own distorted expression staring back at him.

"You can do it on your own time, okay?"

Steven felt like taking a nap, so he did. He turned the TV off, pulled the covers over himself, and placed the mirror on the pillow beside him. A minute later, he turned the TV back on and then settled down once again. After another minute's hesitation, Steven reached over and put his hand on the handle of the cold mirror. Only then did he begin drift off.

* * *

Steven woke up feeling worse than he felt when he went to sleep. The cartoon had changed to one he didn't recognize, nor did he care to watch it. He checked the time.

4:30. If he hurried, he could get a donut from the Big Donut before they closed. Both of his pink animal companions were waiting impatiently by the door covered in fresh claw marks of drastically different sizes.

"Aw, come on guys." Steven said, "How am I gonna explain that?"

Drake gave him a dirty glare, and Lion gave an annoyed huff. The moment Steven opened the door, Drake gave a power flap of his wings and took to the darkening skies, while Lion leaped off the porch and into the sand in a single pounce. Steven went to follow them then, thinking better of himself, retraced his way back up to the loft and picked up the beautiful mirror before going back down, retrieving some money from its hiding place, and venturing out into the cold.

He had never been gladder to step into the warmth of the Big Donut. It was a very short journey, but a cold one, and he was glad it brought him where it did. Sadie was already starting her clean up; wiping down the counter from sticky residue left behind by careless customers. Her hair hung in nappy tangles, and her eyelids seemed impossibly heavy; the bags under her eyes were much more prominent than usual, and the faintest beginnings of a bruise was clear on her cheek.

"Hey Steven!" She called up "Careful, the floor might be a bit slippery."

Steven had already noticed the wet spots, and he took great care to step around them, on the places that had already dried.

"Sorry, people don't usually come in this late. Want your usual?"

"Yes please." Steven finally managed to get up to the counter as Sadie departed to retrieve his produce."Are you okay?"

Sadie paused. "Yeah, I'm okay." She went back to picking the donuts.

"You got a bruise on your face."

"Yeah, couple'a kids got in a fight earlier, I had to break it up. Don't worry, no one from around here. But they were little monsters." She placed the donuts delicately in their bag and handed them over. "That's a nice mirror you got there."

"Thanks." Steven lifted up the mirror so that Sadie could see it better. "But I think it's broken."

"How do you mean?"

"Pearl told me it's supposed to show me all this magic stuff, but it hasn't shown me anything."

"Hmm." Sadie walked around the counter and carefully took the mirror from Steven. "Let me see…" She cleared her throat. "Oh magic mirror in my hand, show me the nicest boy in the land."

She twisted the angle on the mirror to show Steven's reflection.

"What do you know?" Her voice was enthusiastic and bubbly, "It works!"

Steven laughed, and Sadie laughed along; judging from the exhaustion in her voice, she really needed the laugh.

Steven took the mirror back and paused just long enough for the words to process in his head before he said them. "Mirror mirror in my hand, show me Sadie Miller again!"

He shifted the position, and Sadie appeared in the reflection.

Sadie gave a loud gasp. "Wow! It worked again! You must be like, magic or something."

Steven smiled widely. "Yeah! Thanks for the donuts, Sadie!"

"Thanks for the laugh!" Sadie responded, and as Steven approached the door, she shouted "And be safe!"

Steven turned back to her and gave a thumbs up. "You got it dude!"

Then he ran back out into the cold, but somehow it seemed more welcoming than ever.

"Now I can eat all these donuts,,," Steven's words faded as realization set in, but he couldn't stop himself, "By myself. Huh."

Steven found a bench and claimed it as good of a spot as any. He didn't want to go home just yet, to the silence that awaited him. Here, he could hear the wind whistling and see a storm brewing in the sky, the crunch of the leaves and the sounds of waves. With everything alive and well around him, Steven began to slowly eat his first donut.

He found his eyes kept wandering to the mirror. He tried to ignore it and focus on his donut, but no matter what he did his eyes were drawn back. When he could no longer ignore it, and it felt like the usually sweet treat would turn to sand in his mouth, he placed what was left of the donut back in the bag and picked up the mirror once more.

"Can you really show me magic stuff?" Steven asked.

Nothing happened.

"Pearl doesn't lie, so I'm guessing you can. Do you just not want to? That's okay, too!"

The mirror reflected a bird flying overhead.

"Come on, it's cold out here." Steven got off of the bench, "Let's go back to the house."

* * *

The next two days passed without incident. Steven didn't do much of anything; he spent most of the time in town, even though he had started to slowly grow used to the quiet. Everywhere he went he would bring the mirror with him; to the arcade, to the Big Donut, to wait for Jamie. He even brought the mirror into the room with him whenever he bathed, though he would but a towel over her in case she could truly see through that glossy reflection of hers.

That morning, he had made up his mind to go out for lunch and treat himself to a greasy slice of pizza from Fish To Pizza. Today is a good day, Steven had told the mirror, let's go out to eat. Just the thought of their delicious cheese, thin crust, and whatever topping he desired, his mind began to wander and his mouth began to water. He had enough money, he was sure, to buy anything toppings he wanted. Then again, there was always that pinching anxiety nagging that he might be a few cents short, or he might have forgotten his money, despite the fact that said money was in his left hand, and the mirror in the right. He tried to shake the thought away, but when one faded into the mist another made itself known.

The blissfulness of his silent thought was suddenly shattered.

"Hey Steven! Careful."

The voice was undeniable and familiar, enough to bring him back to reality, and as he looked around for Sadie, the reality of the situation began to dawn on him. He saw the quickly approaching vehicle driving down the boardwalk slow to a halt. Out from the side of the door-less van popped a familiar, beet-red face of a very angry Mayor Dewey.

"Car wash kid." The mayor growled out in a gruff voice, "What the hell are you doing?"

Steven felt a wave of toxicity wash over him, and a similar sense ignite inside him. He tried his best to ignore it. "Um. Walking I guess."

"You should pay more attention to where you're going." The mayor spat, "I coulda flattened you!"

"Well, shouldn't you also pay attention?" Steven pointed out. "And I don't think you should be driving down the boardwalk, .

The senior's face grew even redder, if that was possible. His eyes bugged out of their sockets like a crazy person, and as he made a few steps toward Steven, something else joined the rage radiating off of him; a bitter, sour scent Steven couldn't quite recognize, but enough to make him gag nonetheless and wish he hadn't smelled it. Before Dewey had the chance to open his mouth and bark out another insult, Steven ducked out of his line of fire and hurried around his van, making quick haste into the sanctuary of Fish To Pizza. Only then did he pause to give more thought to what had just happened.

"That was weird." He said to no one in particular, "I coulda sworn I heard Sadie's voice."

"Yeah!"

The voice was uncanny. Familiar. Steven looked down at the mirror.

"You work?"

"Yeah!"

As the voice came again, identical to the first, it showed an imagine of Steven from two days ago, back at the Big Donut with Sadie.

"Woah…"

Steven slowly slid into a booth as his mind began to process what had just happened.

"That's so cool…"

Pearl hadn't said it was like a person! Maybe a friend!

"So uh. What's it like being a mirror?"

The mirror thought, and then a ripple shot through its reflection and replaced it with an image of Steven only moments before. "You work."

It somehow didn't seem like a question, and the scene in the mirror changed to Steven laughing. The track was played twice over before fading away.

At first, Steven laughed along, but then he began to realize the meaning of the mirrors words and a sick feeling grew in his stomach.

"Hey Steven."

Steven turned at the voice to face Kiki. Or was it Jenny?

"How we doing today? Good I hope."

Definitely Kiki. "I'm doing great! How are you doing, Kiki?"

"Great, thanks for asking!" She beamed, then held her notepad at the ready and cheerfully adding, "What can I get you today?"

"Uh." Steven found his mind wandering back to the mirror, but quickly shook it from his mind. "A slice of pepperoni please, and a small coke."

Kiki scribbled down the order. "Got it! Back in a jiffy!"

Kiki hurried away, back toward the kitchen, and right as she was opening the door to enter, Jenny was on the other side about to open it to exit. Both twins passed by each other without a word, and Jenny made an immediate beeline toward where Steven sat.

"Hey Steven!" The greeting was identical to the one her sister had said, "I knew I heard your voice! How things going with the Crystal Gems, huh?"

"Oh, I dunno. They're off for a mission for a few weeks."

Jenny's eyes trailed down to the table, where the mirror lay flat.

"Still talking to this old thing?" She leaned onto the table and peered into the reflective pools.

"Uh, yes!" Steven confirmed, tapping his fingers nervously on the table. "She talks back now."

Jenny's eyes widened, a small burst of shock radiating from her in that moment before being replaced with her normal, cool energy.

"Think she'll talk to me?" Jenny asked.

"Um. I dunno." Steven picked up his new friend, "Hey, can you talk to Jenny? It's okay if you don't want to."

Steven wished he could know what the mirror was feeling, or what she was thinking. Even something else he could call her would be nice; it felt strange just calling her 'the mirror'. It would have to do, however, unless Steven opted to call out every name he knew until he came upon hers. Even then, he may not even be able to figure out a name for her, and he would have just wasted hours of his time trying.

She didn't respond, and so Steven looked back up at Jenny.

"Sorry. She's a little shy."

"Aw, is she now?" Jenny responded, "It's okay, I don't bite."

The mirror remained silent.

"I guess she doesn't want to talk right now." Steven said with an awkward laugh.

"What, am I not good enough for little miss mirror?" Jenny gave a playful scoff, "I'm frankly offended."

"Well, offended as you are." Kiki said, backing slowly out the kitchen with two boxes of pizza in one hand with a steady steam rising above them, and a single slice in her other, "I'm offended that you haven't delivered these pizzas. They were back there cold as can be; I had to make new ones, and you gotta deliver 'em."

Jenny rolled her eyes, but that smirk on her face remained the same. "Oh come on sis, can't you do it for me?"

Kiki shook her head. "Nuh uh, not again, Jen. I nearly got caught that last time."

"By who?" Jenny sneered playfully, "Ain't no police in Beach City?"

"Police or not," Kiki said, shoving the two boxes gentle into her doubles arms, "Only one of us has our license and it isn't me."

"I still can't believe you failed by one question."

"And I can't believe you passed on the first try."

Jenny tried to stick out her chest, but then she quickly thought better of it with the boxes in her hand. "I can pretty convincing when I need to be."

"That disgusting, Jen." Kiki said, "Now scoot! The pizza's getting cold!"

"Okay, okay!"

Jenny slid past her sister and disappeared back into the kitchen. Kiki laid Steven's pizza in front of him.

"I'll be right back with your soda, hun."

"Okay! Thank you!"

The moment Kiki departed, Steven picked up his pizza and went to take a bite. He froze, however, when he heard a scoff. Looking around, there was no one, and then Steven looked down at the mirror to see it reflecting the imagine of Jenny scoffing at her sister.

"Oh, that's Jenny." Steven said, "And Kiki, too. They're my friends. They're twins, so they look a lot alike." Steven held up the pizza for the reflection to see. "And this is pizza; I need to eat it to live. Well, I don't need to eat pizza, but I do need to eat food."

Kiki returned with Steven and Steven thanked her. He took a drink and then held it up for the mirror.

"And this is soda; I drink it."

The mirror considered, and then it faded into a picture of Steven the day he had gotten the mirror; sitting on the bench outside eating the donut.

"That's a donut! Steven said cheerfully, "I can eat those too!"

The mirror didn't stop there; it began to flash throughout the past three days, showing everything Steven had eaten or drank in the past two days, and Steven told what every one of them were; milk, cereal, toast, strawberries, noodles. She seemed to soak up the information like a sponge, desperate to learn all she could. When she finally ran out of things to show, she ended with Steven's own laugh, looping it twice to make it last longer.

"You really like to laugh huh?" Steven said with a laugh of his own.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, well, I'll tell you a joke. What do you call someone with no nose and no body?"

"What." The mirror cut off the rest of the sentence.

"Nobody knows!"

The mirror processed this, and then laughed in Steven's voice. Before Steven could think of another one to tell her, she came up with one of her own.

"What do you call somebody-who-eat." It was three different situations edited together.

"What?"

"Steven!"

At first Steven didn't find it that funny, but when the mirror laughed in his voice, he couldn't help but laugh along.

"You're pretty funny for a mirror."

"You're pretty funny for a mirror." The mirror echoed.

Steven gave a genuine laugh. "I'm not a mirror!"

"You're pretty funny for a- Steven!"

Steven laughed along with… well, himself.

"Steven!- is a- new- friend!"

Steven's eyes widened. "I'm a friend?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow! I always liked making new friends!" Steven finished up his pizza and took the last few sips of his soda, "I'm glad Pearl gave you to me."

The mirror fell ominously silent.

"Mirror?" Steven prompted, "Sorry, I don't know what else to call you."

The mirror replayed nothing.

"Are you okay?"

The mirror sparked suddenly back to life. "Pearl-is a- monster."

Steven's blood ran cold. "Huh?"

"Crystal gems- are- monsters."

"No they're not!" Steven insisted, "I don't know why you think they would be, but they aren't. They're really like to me! They're like my family!"

"What- is a- family!"

Steven thought. "They're people you like, and people who are meant to like you. Kinda like friends, except closer."

"Steven- and- mirror- are- family!"

"Um. Sure." Steven was unsure, but didn't want to argue, "We can be family I guess."

"Yeah!"

With the mirror in hand and a head full of thoughts, Steven paid his tab and went home.


	16. Melons, melons, melons

Steven was spending the day with his dad.

It was a surprisingly warm day when compared with the frigid temperatures that preceded it, and Steven was glad for the momentary break in weather. Father and son sat together on lawn chairs in the front of the car wash, watching for any potential customers while also enjoying their time together. At first, it had just been talking, and then talking delved into a competition: who could spit watermelon seeds the farthest.

Greg had presented the watermelon to Steven shortly after their day together began. _You don't usually see ones this healthy this late into the season, _Greg had said, _and big too! I was lucky to grab this one up. _Steven didn't know how to separate the good watermelons from the bad, but hoped he would someday; his dad only had to tap on the melon, it seemed, and he knew everything about it.

Steven took another bite of the fruit, drinking all the juice but storing the seeds in his cheek. When the rest of the watermelon had gone, he readied himself, and spat the pile as far as he could manage; none of them quite beat the farthest seed, which just so happened to belong to Steven.

"Great shot!" Greg commented before taking a bite of his own fruit. He cleared his mouth of all but the seeds, held onto the armrests of his lawn chairs and leaned forward to spit; the small black projectiles shot through the air like tiny rockets, and landed a good distance away on the grass.

Greg threw up his hands in celebration, and Steven threw back his head in the exact opposite.

"Heyo!"

"That's not fair!" Steven protested playfully, leaning over the side of his chair to point accusingly at Greg, "You cheated."

"No I didn't!" Greg argued, then crossed his arms and gave a proud smirk, "My butt remained firmly planted in the seat!"

"You leaned forward!"

"Where's your proof?" Greg prompted, "Can't make such an accusation without proof, can you Stewball?"

"I saw you!" Steven laughed out.

"Did you? Did you really? Cause I don't think you did."

"Okay, okay!"

Steven took the final bite of his melon, locating all the hard seeds and psyching himself up; this was his last chance, after all, to beat his father. He took a deep inhale, thought about the seeds reaching their destination, and spat them into the wind.

The seeds just barely fell short.

"Noooo!"

Greg laughed in celebration, "Oh yeah! That's right! Your old man's still got it!"

Steven made a playful fist and shook it to the sky, "One of these days, dad, one of these days!"

Greg suddenly grabbed his son, lifting the small boy with ease and swinging him around like a stuffed toy.

"Just admit it Stewball, you're just not as good as your old man! I've had more time to practice."

Steven pushed his body up and wrapped his arms around Greg's neck, "I'm gonna beat you at it one day."

Greg laughed at that and placed Steven back on the ground, ruffling his fingers through the tangled mass of black.

"Maybe grow a few feet first, Stewball."

"I'll do my best!" Steven laughed.

* * *

Steven woke suddenly to the call of the phone. Head spinning and thoughts not quite collected in his pool of awareness, he shoved off Drake and Lion (both of which had insisted on sleeping right on top of him) and nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to reach the call before it ended. He made it there by the fifth ring, and answered with a tired, "Hello?"

"Hey Stewball?"

"Dad?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"At the moment? Yeah. But strange things are happening and I need you to get here."

"What?"

"I-I don't Steven, I think it's a gem thing. I'm not really supposed to uh, you know, get involved. Can you maybe just get here, now, please?"

"Yeah. I'm on my way.

Steven hurried over as fast as he could, but not before letting his pets outside and grabbing his special mirror; he didn't know how long he would be gone for. He caught a break of luck, and halfway to the car wash Jenny slowed down beside him in her delivery truck and offered him a ride, which he gladly accepted. He had only been outside for a few minutes and already the cold had begun to sting the heat from his body and leave him a stinging, shivering mess. The delivery girl dropped off the pizza first (to Steven's great impatience) before circling back around to drop him off at the car wash.

It didn't take a genius to see just what Greg had called him about.

Near a hundred small, human-shaped objects littered the front lawn of the car wash; not just objects, watermelons, and not just human shaped, but Steven shaped. Both of those things were unmistakable. They even had faces, with two beady black eyes and a jagged mouth that almost gave them the appearance of a jack-o-lantern.

"Now that is some freaky shit." Jenny didn't seem to care that she had sworn in Steven's presence, and Steven was shocked that he didn't mind.

"Can I swear too?" He asked.

"Go for it."

"What the heck."

"Wow. That was intense, Steven."

Steven got out of the car, and only then did he notice his dad among the strange occurrences. Greg hurried over to him, wide-eyed and with hair that looked as if he hadn't had the chance to comb it; Steven didn't blame him. If he had woken up to this, he wouldn't have combed his hair either.

"What happened?" Steven asked.

Greg shrugged. "If I knew, I wouldn't have called you, stewball! They just appeared overnight."

Father and son turned to face the field, and the fruit growing in it.

"I figured it was some sort of gem thing."

Steven shook his head. "Nothing like this ever happened before. Then again, before a couple weeks ago I never made a bubble, or shot a light cannon with my gem, or healed Connie with spit."

Greg blinked. "You really gotta keep me updated on these things, kiddo. Is this some sort of freaky, gem puberty?"

"Maybe; I dunno. Gems don't usually go through puberty, they just come out full grown."

"Well, you didn't. You were born like a human, so isn't it possible?"

"I guess? I'd have to have Garnet or Spinel, but they aren't here."

"Well, what do you want to do with these things in the meantime?" Greg asked, "They can't stay here, they're scaring off customers."

"That guy doesn't seem too scared."

Steven pointed to an expensive-looking car that had just pulled up, with an impatient-looking teen leaning out of the drivers side.

"Hey, is this a car wash or what?"

"It is!" Greg answered hopefully, "You looking for a wash?"

"Duh!" The driver's eyes widened, and suddenly he wasn't looking at Greg or Steven anymore, "What are those things?"

Greg looked behind him, "Oh uh, those are just some melons my son grew."

"Give me one."

"Oh geeze." Greg began, "I dunno if they're for sale."

The driver wasn't listening; he was too busy looking at his nails, and half way through Greg's sentence, reaching into the passenger's seat beside him and grabbing something.

"Here." He held a wad of cash out of the window, "Kevin gets what he wants, and he wants one of those melons. Now."

Greg looked at Steven, and Steven looked at Greg.

"Right away sir." Greg said.

"I'll get it!" Steven added.

"And I'll get to washing!"

Steven stumbled into the patch of melons, and reached for the first one he saw.

"Not that one." Said the driver (who Steven assumed as this 'Kevin' he talked about), "Get me that one." He pointed toward a different, darker melon.

Steven obeyed and quickly collected the dark melon, detaching it gently from the vine and caring it carefully over to the car; Greg had already started lathering up the hood with a bubbly soap, and was taking his time to get off every scrape, scratch, or speck he could find. Steven maneuvered the melon through the window.

"Careful, it's heavy."

Kevin took the melon, looked it over, and then said, "This will do." And held out the money for Steven to grab, which he did.

"Hey Steven," Greg said, "Go put that money inside and come help me with this."

"Okay!"

Steven did as he was told, and when the money was safely deposited, he returned and grabbed the extra sponge to help his dad. They talked as they worked.

"Listen, I don't think it was such a good idea to give this guy a melon. I mean, we don't know what they are, or what they'll do."

Steven thought, and he could see why Greg could be uneasy around the strange sight; those were a regular occurrence in Steven's life.

"But what the gems don't know won't hurt them" Greg went on, "And we could always use the extra money. I don't want to be labeled a bad dad for letting you sell that thing, so do you think you could just keep this between us?"

"I dunno." Steven responded,"I don't like keeping secrets from the gems."

"You don't have to keep it a secret, you just have to not mention it to the gems. Ever. After we're done washing this car, you can help me load this melons into my van and we can take them to the temple until the gems get home, so they can figure out what to do with them. And I'll even give you ten bucks for the arcade! Sound fair?"

Steven beamed. "Yeah!" Ten dollars could buy him half an hour of gaming, easy! And he might even get enough tickets to buy a prize, or cotton candy.

They finished washing the car quicker than Steven had expected them to, and the customer drove away down the road without another word on the matter. Then, as promised, Greg started to help Steven load the strange melons into his truck. Big melons and small melons, heavy melons and light melons. Dark ones and pale ones, flawless ones and ones covered in blemishes. When they came to the last of them, a small, pale one with marks of brown and grey streaked throughout its body, Steven couldn't help but think it cute.

"Aw, it's just a baby." Steven held it as such, "I'm gonna hold you the whole ride home."

* * *

It took them nearly an hour to load all of the watermelons into the beach house. Steven could only carry one at a time, and Greg could sometimes take two if they were small enough. Down the stairs, to the van, back up the stairs, and placing the watermelons in the kitchen. Dozens of times, over and over, until they were all finally inside. Steven counted exactly 87.

"Whew." Greg breathed, "Carrying all those melons really did a number on my back. Mind if I rest a bit?"

Steven shook his head. "Go for it."

Greg collapsed on the couch with a breath of relief.

When Steven looked back to the kitchen, a chill shot through his body. _They're all staring at me._

* * *

When Greg left, and Steven was alone with the melons and the ten dollars his father had left him, an air of eerie tranquility filled the room. In the short time Greg had taken to rest, Steven was able to ignore those beady eyes that seemed to follow him wherever he went. Now he was alone with them, without the comforting presence of someone older and wiser, they seemed more alive than ever. He would have to move them when the time came to sleep, he knew; it would be impossible to sleep with them staring at him.

Maybe he'd move them to the bathroom, but then again that would give him a nasty scare when he would undoubtedly forget about them the next morning. He couldn't leave them outside either, and he couldn't get into the temple no matter how hard he tried. Maybe he'd put them on the couch and floor right below his loft, where he couldn't see them. Yeah, that seemed okay. But for now, he just wanted to get rid of their deadly stares and just enjoy the rest of the day at Funland.

The moment he arrived at the arcade, it was as if Onion had been waiting for him. The moment he stepped inside, the boy crawled out from one of the vending machines and made a swift beeline toward him, bouncing and holding out balled fists.

"Yes, you can share my time, Onion." Steven said.

Onion cheered, but continued to bounce and hold out his fist.

"You have something for me?"

Onion nodded. Steven held out his hand and Onion placed something in it; something wet and slimy and moving.

At first Steven cringed, when he caught a glimpse of the creature, all that ill feeling went away.

"Aw. It's a little worm."

Onion nodded.

"Don't you think we should put him outside? Back in the dirt?"

Onion thought about it, and then nodded and held out his hand. Steven took the younger boys hand in his hand (the one without the worm in it) and they walked together out to a patch of dirt, placed the worm safely on it, and then returned inside to play their games.

* * *

When Steven returned home later that day, a strange feeling made him stop in his tracks halfway up the stairs. Something didn't feel right, like he was being watched. He looked around for Lion, or maybe Drake, but the only living thing on the beach was a seagull pecking at an annoyed crab scuttling across the sand. Steven shook the feeling away and took another step, only for the feeling to return again stronger than ever.

Stop being silly, he told himself, you're a Crystal Gem now and you have to act like it.

He took a deep breath, swallowed the emotion, and walked the rest of the way to the beach house. The moment he opened the door, his eyes ventured to where he had left the watermelon Stevens, and he froze.

They weren't there.

His eyes naturally scanned across the rest of the room, and the cold emotion radiating in the air only served to make Steven even more frozen in fear. Heat rushed to his face and his ears when he finally scanned the rest of the room and came to see just where his strange creations had gone; on the couch and floor beside his loft, right where he was going to put them.

"What…?"

The baby melon was at the front of the collective gathering, all gazing to the door with equal, unwavering attention.

Baby Melon blinked.

"NOPE!"

Steven turned around, fueled by the heat spreading quickly through his body, and ran all the way back down the stairs. He stopped the moment his feet hit the sand, and looked back up at the window to see if he could catch a glimpse, only to receive yet another explosion of heated fear when he saw all those beady eyes staring back at him.

Steven yelped in terror and kept running. Toward the boardwalk, toward the Big Donut, until he saw it; that solitary big, dark melon standing right in front of the Big Donut and staring him down like something out of a horror movie.

"I'm sorry!"

Steven didn't know what he was apologizing for, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Steven didn't think; he just ran. Around the stony cliff, to the steep grassy slope that lead up to the old lighthouse. It wasn't much, and it definitely wasn't safe, but he would do anything at the moment not to be outside.

It was lighter inside than he expected, cleaner too. No layer of dust or grime, no broken furniture or old peeling paint. In fact, the paint was even cleaner than the paint in his own home, and the wooden planks uprooted and leaving a wooden floor beneath his feet. As he caught his breath, he spotted the old, rotting wood discarded in a careless pile against the far wall.

"Steven?"

Steven flinched at the voice, until he looked up and saw a familiar, friendly face staring down at him.

"Peedee!"

Steven ran all the way up the stairs to the safe presence of his friend.

"Steven, what's going on?"

Higher up, Steven could see Ronaldo's scowling face peering down at both of them.

"I made weird watermelons and now they're alive!"

"What?!"

Ronaldo was on them in a second.

"Where?!"

"Look outside." Steven said.

Ronaldo grabbed his brothers hand and raced up the stairs, but before Peedee could be dragged along, he grabbed onto Steven and all three ran up together to the top of the lighthouse, to a room far too clean and technology-filled to be anything but modern. Ronaldo pressed his face against the glass and gasped.

"What?" Peedee asked, and then repeated himself louder "What?!"

Ronaldo ran across the room, grabbed a camcorder, and ran all the way back as he activated the recorder.

"I'm here in the abandoned light of house of Beach City," He breathed out, "Currently outside, there appear to be at least a hundred living, boy shaped watermelons trying to break in!"

"There's 87!" Steven said.

Ronaldo looked at him. "I'm sorry, whose recording is this?"

"Sorry."

A loud thud from downstairs made all of them jump. Then there was another, and another.

"They're trying to get in!" Peedee cried.

There was a crash, the unmistakable sound of a door being piled upon and broken off his hinges. Steven dared a glimpse down at the ground floor, and to his horror saw several of the living, moving melons piled on top of each other, and on top of the door, with even more crawling through the newly formed entrance. It was almost like something out of a horror movie, but this was real, and so was the fear.

Peedee let out a wail of terror and ran to hide behind his brother. "Why did you bring them here?"

"I don't know!" Steven admitted.

There was a steady drumming, and another look into the horrors below revealed all of the creatures marching in a single-file line, timed perfectly in their motions, as if they were a single hive-mind following a single command.

"They're climbing the stairs!" Peedee cried out.

Ronaldo kept recording.

Steven backed up slowly until he could back up no more, and as the minutes passed by slow, the drumming of the approaching feet seemed almost to match with the beating of his heart. The faster his heart beated, the faster they walked. It wasn't long before he saw Baby Melon rise over the stairs, with his army marching behind him.

They slowly began to fill the room.

All three teenage boys of varying ages backed up together, one sobbing, one still recording, and Steven stuck in silence by his fear.

"Don't touch me!" Peedee shouted at a nearby melon that made an attempt to reach toward him.

"I should of live streamed this!" Ronaldo wailed, "Now they'll never know how the Fryman brothers died!"

"Not helping, Ronaldo!"

Steven felt their fear stinging through the air like a lightning bolt about to strike, and suddenly his fear didn't seem nearly as bad. His heart was beating in his ears, his breathing was shallow, but everything seemed somehow calm. The tears brimming at the corners of his eyes had no emotion behind them, and the ringing that came to replace the cries of his friends meant nothing.

Steven closed his eyes, bared his teeth, and said, "GO AWAY!"

Everything stopped.

Steven opened his eyes.

The army was staring back at him, drinking in his emotion as he had theirs. They all blinked as a single being, and then they began to file out in the same order they had filed in. Baby Melon lead them down the stairs, through the hole where the door once was, out onto the cliff and around to the beach. Across the sand, into the shallows, and eventually disappearing beneath the waves.

* * *

The warp pad beamed to life. Where there was nothing, suddenly there were four things (five, if you counted the creature one had in her arms).

"You're back!"

Steven leaped up from where he sat, curled up with Lion and Drake, and ran to the gems. Drake was ahead of him, however, and zipped past his head in a flash of pink, landing perfectly on Spinel's shoulder and wrapping around her neck like a snake.

"Drake!" Spinel laughed, "Calm down, I gotta get this girl into the temple."

Steven, in the middle of hugging both Pearl and Amethyst at the same time, paused his greetings just long enough to take in the snake-like creature in Spinel's arms. A rainbow body and a sleeping red-colored head and neck. The creature blinked awake and yawned, lifting its head, and then another. Another, and another, and another. Steven counted seven in total, all different colors of the rainbow.

"Woah!" He gasped, "What's that?"

"A story for another day!" Spinel announced.

"I still can't believe you brought that thing home." Pearl pouted.

"Well, Elemental can't take care of the strawberry fields and a baby both! Besides, she's small."

"It gets bigger."

Spinel ignored her, and welcomed a hug from Steven.

"I have so much to tell you!"

Spinel silenced Steven with a finger to his lips.

"Give me one second to put this baby where she belongs." Spinel gave the baby creature a gentle rock, "And then we gotta put this baby back where he belongs." She stretched her arm out to bop Drake gently on the nose.

She spun around and marched proudly toward her room, Drake still perched on her shoulder, and the tail of the baby wrapping around in a tangle of knots.

"Don't be long." Garnet called.

"I won't!"

The heart-shaped gem beamed to life, and Spinel disappeared into the temple. Pearl placed her hands on her knees and got down to Steven's level.

"While she's gone, Why don't you tell me everything that happened?"

Steven opened his mouth, expecting the events of that week to all come falling out. The mirror talking to him, more than one, calling him family. Bringing those melons to life and then sending them off to where it is they went. Something, anything. What he ended up saying was:

"Nothing really happened. Just, you know, the usual."

He made up his mind then and there. He wouldn't tell the gems.

**As of right now, I plan to post one chapter every Saturday, so if that changes, I'll be sure to let you know. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and that you'll enjoy the future chapters to come!**


	17. Halloween night

Coming back from the Sky Spire, they had been fused. Fused, because of a threat to Steven from a corrupted fusion of three. _Big Bird, _they had called her. Yet even after the danger passed they had remained fused for hours.

They formed Opal.

Pearl had tried again during their retrieval of the Desert Glass, and she was successfully days later. She pulled Amethyst from sleep into the fusion, and they had scared off the creature they were meant to investigate and study.

They formed Opal.

They had fused when Spinel reunited with her beloved Drake, that time for no reason at all. They had done nothing, and only used their form to stand there on the beach, staring out into the ocean. For no reason, they had fused.

They formed Opal.

Before then, they hadn't formed Opal for hundreds of years; not since what happened with Rainbow Quartz. Pearl hadn't fused with _anyone _since Rainbow Quartz. Then they were forced into it, and now it was happening all over again. The fusion, the obsession. Looking for any reason to fuse and to be powerful. She was using Amethyst just as she had used Rose, and Spinel couldn't stand it.

On their week-long venture to all of Rose's sacred lands, they had formed Opal half a dozen times. Times when Opal wasn't needed, and Garnet agreed with Spinel on that front, but she made no attempt to stop it. And she wouldn't stop it, Spinel knew, until it got out of hand. Until someone got hurt.

It was Halloween: Amethyst's favorite holiday. A day she blended in with the humans, her color and appearance taken as nothing more than an elaborate costume. She'd go into the city, leaving everyone else behind, to go to parties and eat to her heart's content, and eventually go home with a complete stranger and do something far too human for Spinel's liking. Just the thought of it nearly made her dissipate her form.

It had been hours since she left when the time came for the celebration and the costumes; this year would be the first year that Spinel wouldn't join Steven on his adventure. He had come to her personally, asked if he could be alone with Connie on that special night. They had matching costumes: a jar of peanut butter for Steven, and a jar of jelly for Connie. Nothing went together quite like peanut butter and jelly.

Spinel had given him his bag, helped him to get dressed, and made the costume herself (even though Pearl insisted on helping). Steven _loved _it! But not enough to offer for Spinel to come with him; he said a quick goodbye to her, gave her a hug, and took off in the van with Greg toward the rich town of Gold Crest.

Spinel had never been sadder as she shapeshifted into her costume which was, in her opinion, a very realistic rendition of Harley Quinn. All she needed to do was put on some makeup to fix her color; that was the only thing shapeshifting couldn't change.

When Spinel walked out of the bathroom, she was met with an armor-clad Pearl dressed as a knight.

"Oh, come on." Pearl said, lifting the metal mouthpiece, "It's not that bad."

"I know." Spinel pouted, "But he's never been trick-or-treating alone before, nonetheless in a big town like Gold Crest."

"But he isn't alone." Garnet pointed out; she was wrapped in a mummy costume, covering everything except her eyes and her mouth; she still wore her visors, despite the costume's rustic theme, "He is with Connie."

"I know." Spinel pouted, "That doesn't make it any easier."

She perked up quickly at a knock at the door. Her arms shot immediately toward the bowl of candy (which she had stored previously in her gem to keep it out of Amethyst's clutches). She put on her best crazy face and threw open the door.

"Hi puddin'!"

Spinel's smile immediately faded at the sight of Vidalia, with her small Onion child at her side; the white mask, dark hair, and dark gray uniform was an unmistakable design.

"I love the costume!" Vidalia said.

"Yeah." Spinel replied.

Vidalia gave her son a nudge. "Go on, Onion. Show her what I showed you."

Onion dropped his bag and signed: _Trick or treat._

That made Spinel smile. She kneeled down beside him, trying to ignore the burning in her gem at the sight of Vidalia, and focused all her energy on Onion.

"Well, well, well. Broke out of the asylum again I see! Here to wreak some havoc this Halloween?"

Onion held out his arms in a threatening manner.

"Oh, I'm terrified!" Spinel reached into the bowl, "Please take this offering and spare my life this Hallows Eve!"

Onion considered it, nodded, and held out his bag. Spinel deposited the treats inside.

"What do you sign, Onion?"

Onion shifted his bag in his hands and then signed: _I love you._

Vidalia gave a scoff. "Close, but no." She turned back to Spinel, "Anyway, I wanted to ask, is Amethyst-"

"Bye!"

Spinel slammed the door shut.

"Welp. One trick-or-treater down!"

Pearl crossed arms. "That was rude."

"I'm sorry I don't want to make friendly with Amethyst's fuck buddy."

Pearl gasped. "Language!"

"I can say whatever I want when Steven isn't here!"

There was another knock.

"This one's mine." Said Garnet.

She took the candy, and opened the door.

"Trick or treat!"

Jenny and Kiki had matching costumes of blue, red, and yellow, the only difference being the numbers on their stomach: Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Garnet reached into the bowl, grabbed a handful (which was quite a lot, since she had big hands) and dropped half in each pillow case before closing the door without a word. She turned to Spinel and gave a thumbs up, which Spinel reluctantly returned.

It took awhile for the third knock to arrive, and when it finally did, Pearl was the first one up.

"Let a real gem show you how it's done."

She strolled over with an elegant posture, considering the heavy armor weighing on her and the pointed mask obscuring her view. She answered the door.

Peedee gave a relieved sigh and held out his bag; he was wearing an Eeyore onesie, complete with ears, a clearly detachable tail, and blue face paint. "Trick or treat!"

"Why, you're an uh. Hm." Pearl looked at Peedee long and hard, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you are."

Peedee's smile faded. "I'm Eeyore. _Thanks for noticing me…"_

Pearl obviously didn't get the quote, and quickly removed her metal mask, "Oh, I'd always notice you. I notice _all _humans, and I'm sure a bunch notice you too."

Peedee stared at her. "Okay, crazy lady. Can I just get my candy."

"What do you say?"

Peedee was baffled. "Uh. Trick or treat?"

"No." Pearl said slowly.

"Um. _Please?"_

"There you go!" Pearl gave him a single piece of candy. "Now, don't eat all your candy at once." She advised.

"Gee. Thanks."

Peedee looked over his shoulder as his brother finally made his way up the stairs, his nose stuck so close to his phone one couldn't help but wonder if he needed new glasses. He wore a Winnie the Pooh onesie to match his younger brother, fingers working a mile a minute. He took a momentary break to hold out his bag for Pearl, without so much as a word.

"Ronaldo." Peedee said, giving his brother a nudge. "You gotta say trick or treat!"

"Give me a minute! Gosh!"

Ronaldo just kept on typing and typing. After about two minutes, and constant pestering from Peedee, he finally put down his phone long enough to give an exasperated "Trick or Treat."

"What do we say?" Pearl prompted.

"Give me candy."

"No."

"Give. Me. Candy. Rock woman."

Pearl put her hand to her chest, and leaned back. "Excuse me?"

"I said," Ronaldo reached forward and grabbed a whole handful of the bowl. "Give me candy, rock woman."

He then turned and walked away. Peedee hurried after him, leaving Pearl standing there dumbfounded

"Hey, you're gonna give me some of that, right?" Peedee's hopeful voice faded away into the dimming twilight.

Pearl closed the door. "Well, that wasn't very nice!"

Spinel couldn't hide it anymore. She came undone, her body loosening in its unnatural way and her laughter taking over, so powerful the sound materialized right above her.

"It's not funny!" Pearl cried out, and that only made Spinel laugh harder.

"That's what you get for only giving them _one piece!"_

"Well, I'm sorry I don't want them to have cavities!"

"Come on, Pearl!" Spinel sat up and struggled to reign in her noodle arms, "It's _Halloween! _It's a cheat day!"

"For you, maybe! But humans only live so long, and I refuse to make that lifespan any shorter than it already is!"

"But would it make more sense to have as much fun in that short time as possible?" Spinel offered, "I mean, if I only had seventy years to live, you bet your gemstone I'd spend it shoveling candy into my mouth and living life to the fullest."

"Well, I say quantity over quality! I'd rather have a lot of boring years than a few fun ones."

"What?!" Spinel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Living a boring life would _suck! _And living a _long, _boring life would be even worse!"

"Agree to disagree."

"Well, I disagree with your face."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"_You _don't make any sense."

"Why you little!"

Pearl's gem ignited, and Spinel felt her own do the same before Garnet stood between them. "Calm down, both of you. Just because Steven isn't here doesn't mean you get to act like wild animals."

"Well, she shouldn't _treat_ me like a wild animal!"

Pearl made an attempt to charge Spinel, spear in hand, but Garnet was easily able to stop her.

"At least I _like _wild animals!" Spinel shot back, "I wouldn't like _you _even if you were _tame!"_

"ENOUGH!"

Garnet blasted them apart. Both gems went sliding against opposite walls, and Spinel was able to catch herself on the warp pad, though it didn't do much in stopping her momentum. Her body simply stretched to accommodate the distance, and the parts of her that didn't collide with the wall tangled around the floor.

"We are going to have a nice, calm Halloween." Garnet said softly, taking the candy from Pearl, "No more arguments."

"Okay Garnet." The other two echoed in turn.

* * *

Steven was excited.

Not only was it his first time spending Halloween with a friend other than Spinel, it was also his first time spending it in such a big town. They had only gone to half a dozen houses and already his pillow case was filling up and he was starting to realize why Gold Crest was called 'the rich town'.

At first, Steven had felt guilty about going without Spinel, but the moment he saw Connie, all that guilt faded away into a joy to match her own. She was just as excited as him, for it was her first time she was allowed to go trick or treating (mostly) by herself. She explained to Steven that it had taken several days of begging, and several more of extra chores, to even get her mother to consider it. That didn't stop her from doting over Connie until Connie promised to call her every ten minutes to check in. Only then (and with some persuasion from Doug) did she let the two friends go off together.

"Trick or treat!"

The lady that opened the door awed at their matching costumes. "So cute!"

She gave each of them two full-sized chocolate bars.

"Thank you ma'am!" They both said in sync before trotting away back down the pathway.

"This is awesome!" Steven cheered.

"I know!" Connie agreed, "People love peanut butter and jelly! Spinel did a great job on your costume! Are you sure she doesn't mind not coming with you?"

"I'm sure she's fine." Steven didn't know if he believed his own words, "She loves giving out candy! Even when she'd take me, she'd always have an extra bag of candy for the other kids we ran into."

"It would have been fine if you invited her; I wouldn't of minded."

Their conversation paused momentarily as they approached the next house and repeated the ritual.

"I like spending time with Spinel," Steven continued once they were back on the sidewalk, "But it's good to spend time with other people too. It's nice to finally have someone my own age to talk to."

"I know what you mean." Connie said, "I mean, I have my school friends… or, at least, I used to. I haven't really made any new friends in Beach City except for you and the teachers. And I've definitely never met anyone else who trapped me in a bubble and got me stuck at the bottom of the ocean!"

They both paused to laugh.

"Develop any new powers since we last talked?" Connie inquired.

Steven considered. "Eh, can you keep a secret?"

Connie dragged her fingers across her lip to show a zipper being zipped.

"I did, yeah, while the gems were away. But they don't know, so don't tell them!"

"My lips are zipped as long as you tell me what your new power is!"

Steven glanced around and leaned in close.

"I brought watermelons to life."

"WOW!"

"Shh! Don't say anything. They uh, weren't exactly friendly."

"Oh." Connie laughed, then her smile faded, "Ugh. Not these guys."

Steven turned around and his blood ran cold.

"Well, look who it is!" Mason exclaimed, "What are you doing here, Steven?"

Steven was grateful when Connie answered for him. "It's none of your business, Mason."

Mason crossed his arms. "Well, I think it is my business when a poor little fat kid infect Goldcrest with his presence!"

"He's my friend." Connie growled.

"Your friend? Ha! That make's so much sense!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you two deserve each other! A poor fat boy and an illegal alien!"

There was a sudden, sharp sound as Connie raised a hand and brought it down hard on Mason's cheek. The older boy stumbled backward, and his two lakies stepped forward to catch him.

"I'm am American, asshole!"

"You struck me!" Mason gasped out.

"And I'll do it again!"

"Connie!" Steven grabbed his friends arm, "Let's just go."

Connie didn't fight him as he lead her away.

"Yeah, run away home crybabies!"

Connie didn't indulge him. She took the control away from Steven and began to lead him instead.

"Come on, Steven. Ms. Mince has king sized snickers."

Steven let Connie lead the way.

* * *

It had been nearly thirty minutes since the last knock. Spinel still sat there, holding the bowl of candy, waiting for the inevitable child that always showed up later than all the others.

"Spinel." Pearl sighed, "That was the last one, I'm sure of it!" She was busy doing dishes while she spoke.

Spinel shook her head. "No there's gotta be at least one more…" Spinel looked down at the bowl, "There's still so much candy."

"I told you not to overstock." Pearl said.

Spinel shook her head. "You're not still pouting over Steven, are you?"

"No, Steven's fine. He's with Connie." Spinel gave a slow whine and felt her pigtails droop like a dogs ears.

"Then why are you so droopy? Are you missing Amethyst?"

"No…" Spinel melted deeper into her chair, "Amethyst leaves every Halloween…"

"And you're always with Steven every Halloween. Except for this one."

Spinel whined again.

"Oh, for the love of stars!"

"Huh?" Spinel turned around to face Pearl.

"I mean, I know that you're desperate, but the least you can do is take a hint! She is not interested."

Spinel laughed, and Pearl scoffed at her again.

"Well, I would like to know what is so funny!"

"You're think I'm desperate? That's a lot coming from someone like you who basically stalked Rose for the better part of seven thousand years!"

Color flushed into Pearl's cheeks. "Well, I did nothing of the sort!"

"Yeah, you did! You even went as far as to trick Rose into fusing with you!"

"I did not!" Pearl's gem ignited into a pink glow.

"You did. And Rose was hurt that you would lie to her." Spinel got off the chair, and with every sentence she said, she got closer to Pearl, "That you would feel the need to trick her into forming Rainbow."

"You." Pearl was more blue than white in that moment, "You don't know what it's like to…"

"To what? To fuse? I've fused plenty. But I assume you mean fuse with someone I love, in which case, no I haven't. Because unlike you, I have more respect than that."

"DON'T YOU EVER QUESTION MY RESPECT FOR ROSE!" Pearl's spear was in her hands in an instant, "Don't you ever question the relationship I had with her!"

"What relationship? The one in your head?"

"THE ONE WE HAD! YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT WE HAD!"

"Just admit it!" Spinel continued to advance, "You used her then like you're using Amethyst now! To feel powerful! The fusion, the obsession! This is the same reason you stopped fusing in the first place! Why you haven't formed Opal in so long, and why you haven't formed Sardonyx in long, and why we won't ever form Sodalite again!"

Pearl charged, and her spear slammed hard into Spinel's chest. Spinel flew back against the hall and, in a flash of pink, her weapon was summoned from her gem. She sprung forward, her stretching to give her the extra momentum she needed to launch herself into the air and bring the mallet down hard on Pearl's head. The magic energy momentarily passed onto Pearl, and in an instant she was flattened. In the next, she bounced back up with the rebound of a spring, shook her, and then her body returned to normal.

Pearl readied her weapon again and charged. Spinel stepped out of the way at the last second, but Pearl kept on running, right until she slammed into the wall. She shook off the shockwave immediately and spun back on her heels, ready to charge again. She launched herself into the air, but before she could attempt to make another attack against Spinel, she was caught midair by Garnet and pulled back down.

"Enough already." Garnet turned to Spinel, "Amethyst is about to call; she needs a ride home."

Sure enough, Spinel felt the vibration of her phone in her gem, and summoned it forth to answer it.

"Hi Amethyst."

Amethyst didn't immediately respond; Spinel could hear her breathing.

"Amethyst? You there?"

"Yeah…" The word was long and slow, "I uh… need… a ride. Yeah, a ride. And some food."

"Amethyst, are you drunk?"

"Mmm… a little… just a little. Yeah."

Spinel sighed. "Where are you? I'll come get you."

"Mm. "Fifth. It's uh. Fifth street."

"Just stay where you are." Spinel hung up and immediately dialed Greg.

"Uh, hey, Spinel." Greg said slowly, "Everything okay?"

"Have you left to get Steven yet?"

"I'm about to, why?"

"Can I get a ride to go get Amethyst? She's drunk and lost in the city."

"Oh, uh, yeah, for sure. I'll be there in a minute."

"Thanks."

Spinel hung up.

"Greg's gonna be over in a minute." She reported.

"Great!" Pearl clapped her hands together, "I can't wait!"

Spinel scoffed. "You're not going!"

"I most certainly am!" Pearl looked up at Garnet, "May I get down now?"

Garnet gently put Pearl on the floor.

"Thank you."

"Now," Garnet said softly, "Since you two can't play nice, all of us will be going to get Amethyst, and when we get back you are going to clean up this mess."

"Yes Garnet."

* * *

The rest of the night had passed without incident. Steven made it home to Connie's place without incident, and the two of them were warming up inside as they sorted through their candy and traded among themselves. After that Priyanka had taken it upon herself to inspect every solitary piece of candy from both of their bags, tossing anything she deemed suspicious For the rest of the time as they waited for Greg to come pick him up, Steven and Connie conversed as the latter studied her textbook for school the next morning. After nearly an hour since arriving at Connie's place, Doug poked his head through the open door of Connie's bedroom.

"Steven, your dads here to pick you up. Here, I got your bag." Doug picked up the pillow case so Steven didn't have to.

"Thanks!"

The three walked outside to where the van was parked. Steven and Connie hugged each other goodbye as Doug handed the candy bag through the driver's window to Greg.

"Bye, jam bud!" Steven said.

"Bye, jam bud." Connie echoed.

* * *

Steven wasn't used to seeing Amethyst like she was; swaying back and forth slowly to the music, her eyes closed, every so often giving a happy giggle or talking absently to herself while Spinel struggled to keep her upright. He knew she'd go out every Halloween for a night of partying and irresponsible fun, but she'd usually come home later, long after he'd gone to sleep. Sometimes he'd wake up as Spinel escorted the sleepy drunk to the temple, but he wouldn't see any more of her until the next day, where she'd stumble out still wrapped in her blanket in search of food.

A thought suddenly occurred to Steven. "Spinel? How do gems get drunk?"

Despite the question being aimed at Spinel, it was Pearl who answered. "A gem can choose whether or not they want to get drunk. They just have to shapeshift the proper systems, or I suppose she could make an attempt to filter it through her gem, though I would imagine that is quite an uncomfortable ordeal."

Amethyst gave an absent laugh and muttered someone that, while it definitely sounded like words, Steven couldn't quite figure out what she was trying to say. She leaned precariously forward, but Spinel was quick to push her back, and Amethyst gave no resistance.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, apart from the blaring of Greg's homemade CD, until Garnet suddenly ejected the disk.

"Greg, speed up."

"Huh?"

Garnet repeated herself.

"Okay, you're the boss." The car lurched forward.

Pearl leaned up into the front of the van. "What's wrong, Garnet?" She gasped suddenly, "Did anything happen?"

"We should never have left home."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Spinel demanded.

"Mm." Garnet answered neither of their question, "Greg, go faster."

"I'm going the speed limit." Greg argued.

"Faster."

Greg didn't argue further. Pearl fell dramatically against the back of the van, searching around for any seat belt or restraint as if her life depended on it. There were none, obviously, and so Spinel became their seatbelts. She stretched both arms out, wrapping securely around Steven and Pearl, and stretching back to hold Amethyst in place as well.

They got to the beach quicker than Steven could have ever participated, Greg started to slow to a stop, but before he could even start to make a dent in the speed, Garnet threw the door open and tumbled out, disappearing behind the van. Spinel followed suit, leaping from the back of the van while making sure to keep the three in her arms safe from hitting the ground. Greg finally stopped a few hundred feet ahead of them and peered out of the window with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Spinel unraveled her arms from Pearl and Steven, but kept Amethyst firmly in place. A mallet was summoned, and so was a spear, but both weapons were quickly disbanded when their owners saw the state of the house.

Countless rolls of toilet paper were tossed over the porch and house, and a few even managed to litter the arms of the temple. Windows busted in, and streaks of red, blue, and green spray paint vandalized the structure in various places.

"What in the universe!" Pearl exclaimed.

"We've been vandalized!" Spinel added.

"Come on." Garnet led the way inside.

Steven went to follow Garnet, only to stop when she remembered his lack of candy. He hurried quickly over to the van, and his dad handed him the bag through the open window. They hugged, said a quick farewell, and then Steven hurried inside after the gems.

The inside was even worse than the outside; items slashed or shattered or broken, with bits and pieces of them scattered throughout the floor. Couch cushions were tossed carelessly about, the kitchen counter was marked with spray paint and sharpie, and many of the dishes were in pieces big and small. Even his own bed was vandalized! His blanket laid in two halves, severed down the middle, and his pillows were without their fluff and without their cases. His mattress sank low in the middle, making is clear that the frame under it was broken in some way. Everything was broken in some way.

Steven felt a pit grow in his stomach and in his heart. A dark pit that threatened to swallow every other emotion and leave him nothing but a shallow shell of emptiness. His gaze had shifted around the room, taking in every aspect of every destroyed item, until it eventually came full circle and he was met with a cracked, crooked, torn frame, and inside of that crack, crooked, and torn frame was the ripped, severed image of his mother.


	18. Starved for touch

**Content warning and possible trigger warning: Emotional and sexual manipulation, and sexual innuendos galore**

Following that Halloween night, the gems worked hard to restore the home. They repaired everything they could and trashed the rest, leaving the home almost barren of any furniture. Steven's blanket had been stitched, the walls scrubbed clean, and the gems even resorted to scrounging through Amethyst's room to see if there was anything worth using; there wasn't. And then there was the one thing that wasn't replaceable.

Rose's drawing was completely ruined, and Pearl's attempt to restore it only made things worse. Ripped down the center, marked in sharpie, destroyed. Then, a few days later, Greg came to them with a glimmer of hope.

"I think I got a copy of it in my own storage unit," He said, "Vidalia always likes to make at least two copies when it's a really good painting. I was planning on hanging it up when I got a place of my own but…" Greg blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, not completing the sentence.

Pearl suddenly seized Greg by the shoulder with panic in her eyes, "Greg you have to give us that painting!"

"Of, of course." Greg slowly removed Pearl's hands, "It'd do better here than collecting dust in some old unit, anyways."

Pearl stumbled away, nearly falling with every weak step, and collapsed by the painting's destroyed remains, clutching the few areas that still had some semblance of Rose.

"Better hurry before Pearl has a meltdown." Spinel half-joked; it already seemed that Pearl was far past the meltdown stage.

"Yeah, that's the thing…" Greg began slowly.

"Greg." Garnet said with a hint of warning in her voice.

"Listen, I know it's in the storage unit, I just don't _know _where it is, exactly. There's a lot of stuff."

"Wait." Amethyst suddenly piped, "You're saying you have a sea of junk that needs _exploring?"_

"Uh. Yeah. I guess?"

Amethyst pushed Spinel and Garnet out of the way, sticking out her chest. "It's it's junk you need exploring, then I'm your gem!"

"No, I think I can do it myself just fine, it just… might take… a while?"

"Oh, come on Greg~" Amethyst stood uncomfortably close and dragged her finger across Greg's chest, "I've seen your junk before!"

Greg pushed Amethyst away and stumbled back, flushing deeply and shaking his head. Amethyst only laughed.

"Amethyst." Garnet's voice was cold, "Go wait in the temple."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Amethyst listened to the leader, but made sure to do so agonizingly slow, and not without casting another wink in Greg's direction.

"Greg," Garnet said, "I know being with Amethyst probably brings back some… uncomfortable memories for you, but she is right. She'll be able to find the painting before any of us, and it is imperative we replace the one we lost."

Garnet didn't even have to mention Pearl for Greg to know who she was talking about.

"Yeah, right. I'll take her in the morning."

Garnet laid a gentle hand on his shoulder for a fraction of a second. "Thank you, Greg."

* * *

Steven was conflicted. On one hand, he was always excited to go on a trip with his dad to the storage unit: there were always so many cool things his dad would let him keep and explore. On the other hand, the reason they were going there together (He, Amethyst, Spinel, and Greg) was a less than happy reason. Someone had trashed the house, but Steven was almost certain it was three someones. Almost, but not entirely, and that's what kept him from telling.

Steven brought his mirror friend along for the ride, to show her all the neat stuff too. He had already asked her if she saw anything that night, but she said she didn't; she couldn't. She could only give the audio of the house being trashed while giving an unmoving view of the ceiling. Steven could hear the voices, but couldn't make out who was saying it. He couldn't just assume it was them.

Steven turned to Greg. "It's really lucky you have an extra copy," Steven said, "I miss having mom in the house… I miss looking at her."

Greg gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, me too, Stewball. I'm just glad someone's gonna get some use out of it."

"Why did you put it in storage anyway?"

"Eh, after Rose…. Well, I just couldn't stand looking at it, ya know?"

Steven shook his head. "No, I love looking at mom. Imagining she's looking at me too, and what she sounded like, and what she was like."

"You would have loved her, and I know she loved you. She was willing to give up everything for you."

"I know… I just wish I got to know her…" Steven leaned against his father.

Greg wrapped his arm around Steven, "Don't you worry, Steven, your mothers likeness will be hanging on the wall of your living in no time! You can count on it!"

They pulled into the parking lot and stopped in the usual empty space.

"I hope you can find it." Greg began to fiddle with his keys in search of the one that opened his unit.

"I can find anything!" Amethyst boasted.

"Yeah, well, it's got a lot more cluttered since the last time you saw it."

Greg finally found that special key and pulled up the door to reveal the overbearing content within.

"You're welcome to anything else you find in there too."

Amethyst cracked her knuckles and wasted no time in diving head first into the junk.

Steven looked to his dad hopefully. "Dad, can I look for junk too?"

"Of course, kiddo! But be careful!"

Steven was always careful. With the mirror in one hand, and Spinel's hand in his other, Steven went as far as he could before he met a wall of trash and grabbed the first thing he saw.

"This is a fan!" He held it out for the mirror to see, "It blows cold air and helps to keep people cool."

Spinel had long since been aware of 'the game' that Steven played with the mirror, and was more than happy to join in. She grabbed an old blue bear with an S on its stomach.

"This is a stuffed animal!" She reported to the mirror, "You hug it!"

Spinel did just that.

"Yo!" Amethyst popped her head out of the trash mountain, "Who are you talking to?"

"The mirror!" Steven held it out for Amethyst to see.

"Uh. Cool, I guess." Amethyst ducked back into the trash and out of sight.

Spinel grabbed something else. "This is a dream catcher! It protects you from bad dreams and nightmares!"

Steven gasped. "Can I keep it!"

Spinel tossed it to him.

"Yay!"

The rear end of a purple octopus appeared from a distant pile of trash, and Steven knew immediately who it was. The octo-Amethyst slowly weaseled herself out of the mound, pulling with her several things that filled six of her eight arms; among them, was the flawless, delicate image of Rose Quartz.

"You found it!" Steven gasped.

"Yay!" Spinel cheered.

"Wow." Greg gave a long whistle, "I didn't actually expect you to be able to find it in this mess."

Amethyst popped back to her normal form, but stretched out her arms to catch all her findings before they could fall. "There is so much cool junk here! Way more than last time!"

"Yeah, well, I never really stopped using it."

"I mean, I knew you had some sweet junk, but this wasn't the junk I was thinking about! Haha!"

In that instant, three separate emotions hit Steven at once: An awkward, embarrassed heat like lightning; a staticy hesitance like a computer buffering; and a burning heat that screamed out for a drink to quench its flame.

"Amethyst!" Spinel scolded, and then glanced down at Steven.

"Sorry." Amethyst didn't sound sorry, "Anyway, look!" She held out a bunch of old VHS recordings.

The lightning immediately faded into a warm and fluffy feeling that made the other two feel dull and made a serenity wash over Steven.

"Little Butler!" Greg exclaimed, "I can't believe I still had this!"

"All six seasons!" Amethyst continued, and then waved a seventh recording, "And the director's cut!"

"We used to watch these all the time!"

"Yeah, while wittle baby Steven slept the day away." Amethyst made dramatic snoring sounds, but quickly became bored of it, "But like, I gotta admit, I digged the style!"

"Why did we ever stop watching these?"

It seemed as soon as Greg asked the question, the answer struck him in the back of the head. His eyes widened and he took a sharp intake of breath.

"What's Little Butler?" Steven asked; he was far too aware of the haunted look on Spinel's face.

"Only the best show ever created!" Amethyst said.

"Yeah." Greg laughed, and then coughed, "We used to stay up for days watching this!"

"Hey, you remember when…"

Steven was immediately lost by Amethyst's retelling, and while his dad indulged the purple gem in her excitement, he took the opportunity to talk to Spinel.

"What's wrong?"

Spinel said nothing.

"Spinny? Are you okay?"

Steven's chance to talk to Spinel was over in a flash.

"Anyway," Amethyst said to Spinel, "I saw a bunch of old furniture in there that we could probably use. Wanna help me get it?"

"Yup!" Spinel acted like she was immediately over the emotion that devoured her, but Steven could still feel it, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"I'll help too." Greg offered.

Steven closed his eyes and cradled his head. The heat inside him was almost unbearable, even when the air was cold. Hot and cold and fire and frost fighting over control as he struggled to unwind the tangled emotions that ensnared his mind.

"Steven?"

Steven was brought back to reality with a great boom inside him as sounds and other senses came rushing back. "Huh? Sorry, could you say that again?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to help out, Stewball."

"Oh uh. Sure!"

Confusion pooled in from all three of his elders, but Steven did his best to ignore it.

* * *

Garnet hummed. "The new furniture fits nicely."

Pearl was busy cleaning the cobwebs and dust off of the newfound furniture; so busy that it took her almost a minute to process Garnet's statement and respond.

"I know." Pearl began to push the new couch into place, and Garnet was quick to help her, "And that painting is an exact replica of ours!"

She looked toward the replica with a loving look in her eyes and a smile, as if the painting would open its still eyes at any moment and gaze down at her with a similar look. She looked away just as quick.

"Are you sure it's safe? Being put in the same place?"

Garnet considered. "Yes, it should be." They finished putting the couch into place and started work on scrubbing down two twin tables, "As an extra precaution, I am commissioning Vidalia to make another copy to be stored in the temple should such a need arise for replacement."

"Blessed be the Goddesses for that, but…" Pearl sighed, "I wish it was someone other than… her."

"Amethyst and Vidalia are both consenting adults." Garnet reminded her.

"I know, I just… wish they would cut it out already! Amethyst barely does her duties as it is, and we all have more of those since Rose left! It seems whenever she gets back into all these 'relationships' of hers, she forgets all her obligations!"

"She is young, Pearl, and she'll learn in her own time."

"There." Pearl finished scrubbing the table and picked it up as well as the one Garnet had scrubbed clean. She started to look for a place for them. "Though we might want to get new cushions for the couch, given its, ahem, history."

Garnet looked the cushions over. "Yes. That would be best."

* * *

Steven was still getting used to the new furniture. The new shapes that formed new figures in the darkness, more dark corners where monsters could hide and more chance of stumbling in the dark should he get up to go to the bathroom in the night. Shapes that towered high and shapes that hung low, and shapes that you couldn't see until it was too late and you would be falling over them.

Steven rolled over to face the wall and buried his face in the familiar scent of his blanket. It wasn't just new shapes the furniture brought to his home, but a new scent that hung heavy in the air. It wasn't bad; if anything, it was good, and it reminded him of the times he'd spend with his dad. It was just different than the usually, rosy scent that would lull him to sleep all other nights; this was the smell that meant he should be awake, and with his dad, and he was only one of those things.

Steven reached for his new alarm clock and turned it to see the time. 2:15 am. He sighed, turned the clock back around, and reached blindly for his mirror.

"Hey." He said to it," I can't sleep."

In the dark, Steven saw the mirror reflect the scene. "I can't sleep."

"You too huh?"

There was no response.

"So what do you think of the new furniture?"

"Yeah!"

That seemed to be the mirror's favorite thing to say.

"Yeah, me too."

Steven sighed and looked up at the dream catcher hanging above his head.

"It's supposed to help me sleep, but I guess it doesn't work on me. Maybe it will for you? Do you wanna try sleeping on the pillow?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay."

Steven put the mirror on the pillow beside him, and pulled the end of the blanket up so it covered the hilt of the mirror.

"Goodnight, Mirror."

"Goodnight-Steven!"

* * *

Steven opened his eyes to the feeling of being watched. He sat back up in his bed and let his eyes scan over the vague shapes surrounding him until they landed on one familiar to him.

"Dude." Amethyst said in a sing-song voice, "Creepy!"

"Amethyst! What are you doing here?"

Amethyst crawled onto the bed and reached over Steven to turn on the light before she answered. "I was gonna ask if I could borrow your TV, but now I wanna know about this creepy talking mirror you have!"

She roughly snatched the mirror from the pillow, but Steven quickly took it back.

"Careful! She's delicate! And she's not creepy! She started talking to me a few days after you guys left for your mission."

"So cool!"

Steven felt bubbles and butterflies radiating from Amethyst.

"Does she have a name?"

Before Steven could respond, the mirror answered for herself. "Mirror."

"Awesome!"

Amethyst took the mirror from Steven again, this time more delicately, and turned it around in her hands. Her eyes settled on its back, on the gemstone, and the invisible bubbles around her all popped, but the butterflies remained. She gently traced her finger across the gemstone.

"How's this thing work anyway?" She asked.

"She can repeat stuff she's heard," Steven answered, "Or things she's seen. Can I have her back now?"

"Huh?" The butterflies were gone now, too, "Oh yeah, for sure."

She gave Steven the mirror back.

"Thanks. Um. Why do you want my TV?"

"Cause I don't have one! Duh!" In response to Steven's confusion, she quickly elaborated, "Greg and I wanna re-watch Little Butler!"

"Oh. Okay."

"So can we borrow it?"

"Sure..."

"Thanks, Steven!"

* * *

The next few days were no different. Steven would stumble, even in the light, and it took a long time to get used to the smell enough to sleep, but with Pearl setting up several sprayers to go off at various times in the day, it became slightly more bearable. When Steven would finally manage to fall asleep, however, he'd always be awoken not long after by the incessant laughter and giggling of his dad and Amethyst, or the loud jokes that came from the show they were watching in the living room below.

Steven made an attempt to get into the show at first, staying up late into the night to watch rerun after rerun of the same episode and the same gag and the same joke. He made an attempt to see what Greg and Amethyst found so amusing about the small butler, and Greg took the time to explain the things he didn't understand, while Amethyst barely even acknowledged Steven, unless it was as a nuisance. Steven gave it three nights before he gave up and left them to it.

Two weeks into the endeavor, Steven woke to a familiar, annoying laugh track and an even more familiar, burning heat; he had grown to associate it with Amethyst, but still couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. He tried to ignore it and go to sleep, but then the fluff of his dads emotion turned to static and Steven jerked awake once more.

"Amethyst, don't."

Static and heat danced all around Steven and the blanket over him became too hot, so he kicked it off. The static buzzed in his ears louder than ever; not just in his ears, in his head, and buzzing around in his chest and stomach too.

"Amethyst, You promised not to do this."

"Come on Greg~"

There was another wave of heat.

"No one's gotta know except you and me…"

The heat burning Steven up was temporarily with an intense tsunami that, while it didn't wash away the heat, brought a heat of its own.

"Amethyst, Steven's sleeping up there!"

"Exactly, Greg. He's sleeping. It's just you and me~"

There was the sound of blankets and pillows shifting, and Steven could see Greg rush to the kitchen.

"I need a drink."

Amethyst quickly pursued him. "What's your deal, huh? Am I not good enough for you?"

Greg had both hands planted on the cold metal of the sink. "Amethyst, don't do this."

"What? You think Steven's gonna wake up? We can go to my room if that's the case."

Greg didn't respond, and so Amethyst persisted.

"C'mon Greg. It's not like we'd be doing something bad. If anything, it'll feel good."

Amethyst tried to reach around to grab at Greg's front, but Greg quickly elbowed her away. Amethyst stumbled back, caught herself on the counter, and then stared Greg down with an ever growing heat.

"Is it my form?"

"Your form's fine, Amethyst. There's nothing wrong with you, I just don't want you, okay? Not like that."

The passion quickly turned to malice.

"You wanted me back then…"

"I wasn't in a good place back then… Rose just died and…"

"Ugh! Rose, Rose, Rose! All about Rose. Never about me!"

"I care about you Amethyst, just not like that, and I want to hang out again, I really do. But we can't if you keep trying to do stuff like this!"

Amethyst slowly advanced on Greg.

"I used to have someone who wanted to be with me. To spend time with me. To hang out with me."

"Amethyst-"

"Do you know what happened to her? The one person who cared about me? The one person who understood?!"

"Amethyst, please."

"You killed her. You took her away! For your own gratification."

"Rose and I both wanted to have Steven, she wanted a child!"

"And you gave her one. Knowing what it would do to her. Knowing what it would do to us…"

"Amethyst, she wanted Steven more than anything…" Greg finally turned around, "She wanted to make life from nothing, and she did. She wanted Steven to live and to grow and to love, and he is. Isn't that enough?"

"It was enough for her, but not enough for me!"

They both went silent for such a long time with that shout, and Steven could only watch what happened next.

"I bet… you'd do it for her…"

Greg immediately turned around.

"Amethyst, I beg you, don't."

Amethyst didn't listen.

Her unkempt hair expanded and formed into curls, and her short frame grew greatly in mass. Higher and higher until she towered over everything else. Her simple, comfortable attire unfolded into a beautiful violet dress.

Steven could hardly breath.

"Oh Greg." Amethyst chanted, "Why don't you turn around? I think you'll like what you see,"

"I know you're doing it!"

"Doing what?" Amethyst (if you could even call her that anymore) folded down and wrapped her arms around Greg, "Come on. You wouldn't say no to me."

Greg quivered, but made no movement as Amethyst felt her way around his waist, and he didn't move when Amethyst leaned down and kissed his neck.

"You love me, don't you Greg?"

Steven felt cold. Despite the heat swarming in a cloud of haze around him, emotions shifted and shaping and forming and disappearing all at once in a confusing knot of conflicted feelings, he felt the cold above all else. Not a cold that belonged to Greg, nor to Amethyst. A cold that belonged to him and him alone.

"Stop!"

Everything froze. And then Amethyst turned around, and the eyes Steven saw staring back at him weren't Amethyst's, but his mothers. Wide, starrying, and surreal. For a moment, the only moment in his eyes, Steven locked eyes with his mother. Rose.

The TV turned to static, and in an instant Amethyst was herself again, with that same, horrified look in her eyes.

"What are you two doing?!"

Greg nor Amethyst answered. Greg just stood there, looking ashamed and horrified, but not nearly as much as Amethyst. She looked from Greg, to the TV, to Steven, to the picture of Rose. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, small at first but quickly giving way to a dam of emotion.

She wailed, covered her face, and ran out the door into the cold night, leaving father and son alone in their shock and horror. Steven was quick to shake it off, and ran after her.

"Amethyst!"

"Steven, I-"

"Sorry dad, I'll be back!"

Steven pulled on his sandals and ran out of the door as fast as he could.

"Amethyst?"

There was no verbal response, but it didn't take Steven long to realize that the cooing of a nearby owl was wracked with grief and sobs. He followed it to a tree in the sand, and at the top of the tree, perched on a broken branch, sat a sobbing, purple owl with her head in her wing.

"Amethyst?"

The owl cooed its shock, looked down at Steven with wide, watering eyes, and wrapped its wings tightly around its body.

"Amethyst, please come down."

The owl blinked. "You're crying."

Steven touched his face, and he was shocked to find it warm and wet. "I… didn't even realize." He wiped his face with his sleeve.

The Amethyst owl glided down from the treetops and popped back into her true form. Surrounding her was nothing but shame and guilt, and Steven felt the feeling settle in his stomach, as if he had eaten just a little too much.

"I'm sorry, Steven, I… I just wanted to…"

"Amethyst." Steven said, "It's okay, I think. But can you… do that again?"

"Huh?" Amethyst tilted her head like a dog.

"What you did… you turned into mom…"

"Oh…" Sadness turned back into confusion, and then the two mixed together, "You want me to do that again?"

"Just for a minute?"

"Why?"

"I just…" Steven couldn't look at her, "Want to know what it feels like for my mom to hug me…"

It seemed every emotion filed into Amethyst at once; Steven could decipher just one, and when he tried he was too slow, and the emotion was quickly replaced by a new one, and then another.

Amethyst wordlessly made Steven's wish come true. She doubled in size and in weight, her clothes faded into a dress, and a lifeless, false Rose Quartz gem formed into the star cut into the fabric on her stomach.

"Oh... " Steven felt cold and warm at the same time, and it was water was welling up inside him soon to overflow, "Hi…"

Amethyst (_Rose_) stared down at him with gentle eyes, and Steven couldn't take it. He stepped away, looking down at his fingers, to look at anything but her.

"Steven…"

Amethyst didn't even sound like herself, like she was making an effort to sound like Rose.

The rose quartz fell to her knees, and even then she towered high over Steven. Steven finally worked up the courage to look at her again. Gentle eyes filled with all the stars of the universe, and those soft features that gave her the motherly appearance she most desperately sought for in life. And then she smiled a gentle, caring smile that was so unlike Amethyst Steven could almost believe it wasn't.

"Steven." Said the Rose-Amethyst, "Look at you… you uh… you. Just you."

Steven didn't dare to blink, because if he blinked, she'd be gone. So instead, he sank into the frills of her dress, and felt her wrap her cold, gentle arms around him in a mother's embrace.

"I love you, Steven. I love you with all my heart."


	19. Where the pink grass grows

_Steven found himself in a beautiful field. To his left, a sea of pink grass and flowing in a wind that didn't exist. To his right, the grass continued to spread far into the distance, and behind him more of the same. In front of him an island rested in the sea of eternal grass with a powerful tree in its center; the tree had lost most of its leaves and seemed to be in the middle of the downward spiral, nearing the end of its life, but for now it still stood strong and gallant over the treasure trove that surrounded it._

Rose…

_Steven looked around for the source of the voice, but was only met with the distant ringing of his own ears._

...this is how we win!

_Steven continued to look, only to be blindsided by a burning pain in his lungs. Sharp as can be, spreading through the rest of his body and dimming his senses until..._

Steven shoved up with all his strength, and Lion went tumbling off of him. Fresh air flooded his lungs and restored his senses as Lion rolled and settled on the end of the bed.

"Lion!" Steven scolded, clutching at the collar of his pajamas, "You sat on me!"

Lion gave a gruff roar in response.

"It's fine." Steven forgave the lion, "Just don't do it again; I can't breathe when your on me!"

Steven pulled the blanket back over his body, and rolled onto his side to hopefully get back to his rest, but a few hours later, he awoke to the same dream.

I'm here again, _Steven thought, _what is this place? _It seemed far too vivid to be a dream, but far too implausible to be anything else. This time, he was closer to the island than before, and he could see all the treasure that surrounded it._

Rose…

_That voice again. It seemed to be coming from the island itself._

...this is how we win!

_Steven looked back at the island, and now that he was closer he could see the crystals surrounded the tree on the island, forming a protective barrier around the rotted base that kept it upright and strong. A few of the crystals were cracked and fractured, and fewer still were broken completely in half or crumbling to dust._

_Steven felt that pain start to return to his chest, and quickly took in the rest: a true treasure chest of wood and gold, with no key to be found, but a picture at its base that showed two figures far too distant to be seen._

Rose…

_A flag, stuck to the base of the tree, torn and tattered with a rose sigil waving proudly in the still air. _

...this is how we win!

_A spiraling gemstone, bubbled in a pink containment. A black t-shirt with ' Mr. Universe' _ _spelled out in red and purple. A beautiful, rose-colored sword sticking out of the crystals, with a darker hilt and a gleam that seemed to shine like the sun itself._

Rose...

Steven pushed Lion off of him for the second time that night.

"Lion!"

Lion fell back on his rump and began to draw one paw over his ear without a care in the world. Steven got off of his bed.

"That's it! Out!" He pointed to the door.

Lion didn't move.

"I said out!"

Steven grabbed Lion by his mane and tried to pull him off, but the lion didn't budge. The beast gave an annoyed grunt and rolled over onto his back, bringing Steven twisting with him.

"Lion!"

Steven and Lion shared upside-down glances.

"That's it!" Steven let go of Lion's mane and circled around to shove Lion from behind, "Off!"

Lion rolled back onto his stomach and reluctantly gave in to Steven's demand, but the moment he jumped onto the ground, he flopped back onto his side and batted his eyes.

"Not this time Lion! Outside!"

Steven grabbed him by the tuft of his mane and did his best to lift the immovable creature; usually, he'd feel bad about using such violence against such a cute creature, but Lion was so unbothered that Steven felt the exact opposite. It didn't take him long to realize the Lion wasn't moving, and for a new plan to formulate in his mind.

He hurried down the steps and opened the freezer, aware that Lion was watching him the whole time. He felt those dark eyes boring into the back of his skull, and made sure to take his time unwrapping the frozen delicacy, and before he had even finished unwrapping it, he felt a cold wet nose pressed against his neck.

Steven held up the frozen crystal basilisk, dewinged and defeathered, and waved it by its tail while Lion stared at it and licked his lips; sitting down, he was almost a head taller than Steven, yet still he didn't dare make an attempt to snatch the morsel from him.

"You want this?" Steven walked past the lion, backpedaling to make sure the creature followed (he did), and then he opened the door and threw the crystal basilisk out into the night. "Go get it!"

Lion rushed past Steven in a gust of wind and leaped off of the balcony in a single bound, and while Steven knew Lion could float, it still nerve wracked him enough to hurry to the guardrail and peer over to make sure.

Lion was crouched on the ground, biting at the frozen treat with his tail wagging much like a dogs would. He took the basilisk in his mouth, rolled over onto his back, and proceeded to chew on it's body while pawing absently at its tail in an attempt to tear it.

Steven went back inside.

Steven was quickly able to get back to sleep after that. When morning came, he decided to go visit the Big Donut the moment it opened, and of course Spinel just had to tag along.

"Steven," Sadie said when she saw him waiting, "You know the donuts won't be ready for another half hour. Oh, hi Spinel." Sadie waved to the pink gem, and the gem waved back.

"I know!" Steven said, "I thought you might be lonely without Lars, so I thought I'd hang out with you!"

"Aw." Sadie touched her hand to her chest and smiled a wide smile, "That's sweet. Well, you're free to hang out as long as you want, and I'll make sure you get the first donut. How's that sound?"

Steven beamed. "Yummy!"

"Great." Sadie went to sit down her purse and lunch bag.

"I got it!" Steven quickly offered, and took the bags from her.

"Thanks Steven." Sadie took the key off from around her neck and began to open up the shop.

Steven looked down at the bag. "What do you have for lunch?"

Sadie shrugged. "No clue. My mom always packs it, and it's not like I eat it anyway."

Steven frowned. "Why not?"

"I'm twenty-three, Steven, I don't need her packing my lunch for me. Besides, I usually just get some fries from Fryman's or some pizza from Fish-To-Pizza; it's much more convenient. Sometimes I'm not even hungry, so I just eat when I get home."

Sadie held open the door for Steven and Spinel, and followed them in.

"Then can I have it?" Steven asked hopefully, "Since you're not gonna eat it anyway?"

"Go for it." Sadie grabbed her purse. "Thanks! I'll be back in a few minutes, just hang out okay?"

"Okay Sadie!" Steven and Spinel sat together at a nearby table. "Now to see what yummies lie in this mysterious paper bag!"

Steven wiggled his fingers in anticipation of what he would find inside. Spinel sat back and watched, her pupils spiraling with anticipation.

Steven stuck out his tongue and grabbed the first item he felt, presenting it proudly to Spinel. "Looks like a classic PBJ sandwich cut into triangles."

Spinel closed her eyes and nodded her agreement. "Very nice. The only shape a sandwich should be."

Steven pulled out the next item. "Apple juice, it seems. And it's brand named!"

"Good for Sadie's mom, making sure Sadie gets her vitamin C!"

"I agree! And for dessert…" Steven pulled out the last item, "Woah! A cookie shaped like a star! Haha!"

Steven held the star cookie over the star on his shirt.

"I guess you could say that cookie is…" Spinel began.

"Out of this world!" Steven and Spinel finished together, and then they fell into a fit of laughter.

"That's really cool how you guys say the same thing like that."

Steven looked to see Sadie fiddling with the register.

"You must be really close."

Steven smiled, but his smile faded when he didn't see one on Sadie. His friend sighed, rested her head on the counter, and continued whatever she was busy doing at a slow pace. Steven's heart fell at the sight.

"Yup!" Spinel suddenly wrapped her arm around Steven and pulled him close, "Close as can be! Forever and always!"

Sadie smiled, but it seemed forced. "That's sweet. You need that, ya know. A friend." A timer went off in the back room and Sadie suddenly jumped up, "I'll be back!" Then she hesitated, and turned around, "Thanks for staying here. It can get a little lonely without Lars."

"No problem." Steven said with a shrug.

They spent the rest of the day keeping Sadie company and helping her to manage the Big Donut without Lars. She had offered to treat the both of them to lunch at Fryman's, but Steven had gotten his usual fry bits for free, and Spinel politely declined the offer; it seemed Sadie was relieved at their decline, and she barely even had time to eat before returning back to work.

Even after closing, Steven was reluctant to leave Sadie alone.

"I'll be fine." Sadie told him, "I'm just gonna go home and go to sleep."

"But it's early." Steven said softly. "It's not even six yet."

"Steven, when you get to be my age, you take as much sleep as you can get. But I appreciate the offer." Sadie began to walk away.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow!" Steven promised.

"You don't have to do that." Sadie assured, "Really, it's fine."

"I don't mind!" Steven insisted.

"I do." Sadie said, "You're a kid, Steven. You should be out playing, ya know? Not stuck in some stuffy old restaurant all day."

"It's okay, I do a lot of stuff kids shouldn't do."

Sadie's expression fell to concern, "That doesn't mean you should add to that list. Come back if you want, but you don't have to. Thanks for today. Bye Steven, bye Spinel."

"Bye Sadie."

* * *

"You should have seen it!" Steven exclaimed to Lion when he got home, "The cookie was a star! Just like my star!"

Lion stared.

"And Spinel and I made a joke that it out of this world! Haha, get it? Out of this world!"

Lion grunted, and pressed his head against Steven's shoulder, and this time it was Steven's turn to stare.

"Blink if this means you love me."

Lion took a few steps back and tilted his head to the side, unblinking. Steven looked around to make sure no one would catch him in the act before he blew air into Lion's face, and Lion blinked.

"You love me!"

Lion roared and lifted his paw onto his nose, closing his eyes and rubbing them. Steven leaned into a hug and let himself fall deep into Lion's warm mane. Lion's weight shifted, and in an instant he had wrapped a large, powerful forearm around Steven and pinned him tight.

"Lion!" Steven pressed his arms against Lion's broad chest and tried to force himself to freedom, "Let go!"

Claws like steak knives unsheathed and dug into Steven's back; immediately, through the burning pain, Steven felt a wet warmth.

"NO!" Steven screwed his eyes shut to focus on the pain as he shoved Lion off of him. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Steven immediately ran to the bathroom and examined himself in the mirror. His shirt had taken the brunt of the impact, torn to shreds and barely holding on by thin strands of thread. Lifting his shirt, he saw several bloody gouges.

"_Spiney_!"

* * *

The wound wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, according to Spinel. Minor puncture wounds that still needed cleaned and bandaged either way, thankfully no stitches, but not before Pearl tried to coax Steven to heal himself; he hadn't done much of that since healing Connie's eyes, and Pearl seemed insistent on him trying again. Garnet seemed to agree, but Amethyst only came out long enough to make sure Steven wasn't seriously hurt and disappeared into the temple just as fast, without giving her thoughts on the matter.

At Pearl and Garnet's command, Steven had spit on his hand and reached behind his back to put the spit on his wound, but nothing happened. When Pearl finally admitted it wasn't working, she and Spinel worked together to clean and disinfect the wound.

"I knew that Lion was a menace," Pearl had said, "We should have put it down long ago."

"No!" Steven had said in response, "He didn't mean it!"

It took a half-hour of back and forth argument and conversation for Pearl to finally agree to not punish Lion for the offense; nothing beyond banning him from the house for the foreseeable future (which Garnet said to be about ten years) and forbidding Steven from being alone with him until he mastered his healing spit. It was probably the best Steven could hope for.

Sleep came surprisingly easy once he found a position that didn't put pressure on his back. His dreams were sweet and littered with everything he loved, from Connie to the gems to his dad to Cookie Cat. Everything. When he was abruptly woken up, the dreams slipped away between his fingers like water until nothing remained but vague images that fell apart the moment Steven had begun to comprehend them.

Steven felt a wet nose pressed against his back, and hot breath heating his bandages. He immediately sat up and looked to the intruder.

"Lion!"

Lion roared in response.

Steven swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Pearl says you're not allowed inside anymore."

Lion stood up on his hind legs, crossing his paws, and stared at Steven intently with watery eyes. The mighty beast gave a mournful cry, and Steven immediately understood.

"Oh Lion, I know you didn't mean it."

Steven didn't hesitate to reach forward and rub the side of Lion's face in a forgiving touch; the lion leaned into the affection perhaps a little too much, and Steven was pulled from his bed and both man and beast went crashing down to the floor (luckily, in Steven's case, on his stomach).

"Ow!"

Lion sat back up before Steven did and blinked his confusion.

"Lion, I'm small! You gotta be careful."

Lion pressed his ears back and stared at Steven.

"I know you're sorry." This time, Steven used both hands to hold Lion's head, "Blink if you love me!"

Lion blinked.

"Hahaha! You love me!"

Steven hugged Lion again, and Lion rested his head on Steven's shoulder.

"I just can't stay mad at you! You're a wonderful pink human being. Except you're not. Cause you're a lion."

Steven closed his eyes and let Lion's mane surround him in a warm, pink embrace. Listening to the steadfast beat in Lion's chest, beating slow at first but steadily growing faster and faster, and louder and louder, until Steven realized that it was not Lion's heartbeat, but his own, and he _opened his eyes to pink. Nothing but pink. Pink grass, pink sky, pink clouds and pink stars. A pink island with a pink tree and pink accessories. Pink._

Rose, this is how we win!

Steven pushed off of Lion, the world around him flooded back into color and air flooded back into his lungs.

"Lion?!"

Lion stared at him knowingly.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Steven almost found himself waiting for a response, before he decided to take matters into his own hands and lean back into Lion's fur.

_Pink again._

Steven pulled his head back out. "Definitely not sleep!"

This time, instead of his head, Steven stuck his hand against Lion's mane and watched in astonishment and horror as it disappeared in a ray of rosy color. Steven quickly pulled his hand back.

"Woah!"

He did it again, and the same thing happened. Again, and again, and again. He slowly became more confident and began to laugh, putting in one hand, then the next, then his entire arm, and the other, until Lion growled and stepped back out of Steven's reach.

"Sorry."

Steven let a deep breath fill his lungs, and shoved his head back into the pink of Lion's mane.

_Suddenly the grass around him made sense, because it wasn't grass at all, it was fur. Am I supposed to do something here? Why can't breathe? Speaking of breathing, Steven needed to do just that._

He pulled his head out of Lion's mane and took a deep, heavy breath of air.

"Okay Lion, I'm going in."

Lion closed his eyes and stuck out his chest. Steven rubbed his hands together and ran full force into the pink wormhole, landing on his stomach on the inside. _He could feel all his limbs now, working to push his head above the 'grass' and hurry toward the island. He felt whatever ground was beneath his feet begin to slope up until, eventually, he stood on the only clear spot of land for miles around._

Woah, _he thought_, it's like I'm in the middle of the ocean! Now… what do I do?

_The first thing that caught his eye was the chest; golden rimmed, wooden framed, with a powerful lock in its center that hid its contents safely within the barrier. Steven tried to unhinge it, to force it open, but it didn't budge. He could feel the timer in his lungs running out, and quickly searched for something else to make his discovery worthwhile._

_His eyes drifted down to right below the chest, so a small tape and, on written in cursive on its side, 'For Steven'._

_Steven quickly grabbed the recording and ran back into the tall grass, running until he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet and suddenly_ he was back in the real world and air was flooded into his lungs. He didn't even care that he face planted on the wood of his deck, because all that mattered was the recording in his hand and catching his breath.

Steven sat back up, and read the label again, and then again. For him. But who could have left that in there, and why? How did that place even exist inside of Lion's mane? Steven looked around for the giant beast, but it seemed that Lion had disappeared into thin air. Steven needed to tell someone about his discovery, but he was alone. The gems were in their rooms, in the temple he couldn't enter, and he didn't dare call Connie so early in the morning.

He ran back inside, up the steps to his loft and took his friend from off his pillow.

"Mirror, you'll never believe what I found!"

"What you found!" The mirror echoed.

Steven relayed what he had discovered while the mirror listened intently to his words without saying a thing.

"Isn't that amazing?" Steven asked after he had concluded his story.

"Amazing!" She responded.

"I need to watch this tape! But Amethyst still has my TV…"

Steven thought more about it, and his spirit fell.

"She doesn't come out of her room much anymore, huh…?" Steven asked himself. "How am I gonna watch it?"

The mirror swirled with thought. "Sadie."

"Huh?"

"Sadie! TV…"

"Oh!" Steven quickly understood, "You think Sadie might have a TV I can borrow?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, it's worth a shot! I'm sure Sadie would help me!" Steven grabbed the tape and almost ran down the steps, only to pause and run right back up to grab his mirror friend, "You wanna come too?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go!"

Steven wasted no time; down the steps, out the door, into the sand and then to the boardwalk and the Big Donut. Only when he got there did he realize it was still an hour until it opened, but he didn't care. He spent that hour thinking about what the contents of the recording could be, bouncing off ideas with his friend in the mirror until finally, though it seemed like a thousand years had gone by, Sadie finally arrived.

"Steven?" Sadie stared at him dumbfounded, "How long have you been waiting here?"

Steven jumped up. "It doesn't matter! Sadie, do you have a TV I can use for this?" Steven held up the tape for Sadie, "It was in my lion!"

"In you-" Sadie shook her head, "Nevermind, I don't even wanna know. Sure; I got a TV in the back that should fit that. Come on."

Steven could barely hold still as Sadie unlocked the Big Donut, and once the door was open Steven was the first inside. He hesitated at the counter however and grew suddenly nervous as he looked back at Sadie.

"Go ahead." Sadie motioned his through. "It's fine."

That's all Steven had to hear. He ran past the counter and into the backroom, and he had the tape in the VCR rewinding before Sadie even got into the room.

"Gah!" Steven looked away, "Spoilers! Tell me when it's over!"

After a few minutes, Sadie said, "Okay, it's over." And reached to set the video back to play.

Both of them stood back and watched as the video came to life, and Steven made sure Mirror had a good view of the video too.

The first thing that appeared on the screen was the crash of waves in the ocean Steven recognized clear as day, and in the next shot it had cut over to the temple, except it didn't have the beach house attached to it like it did now. It seemed strangely naked without it, but Steven didn't have long to think about it before the scene changed again, this time to a red-skinned, brown haired man danced across the screen with his arms hooked like a crab. And then there was laughter.

"What are you doing?"

Sadie gasped. "Steven, that voice."

It was sweet like candy and soft like rain, and even without seeing them, Steven could practically feel the soothing, gentle touch surround him and some part of him knew who that voice belonged to.

The next scene showed that same brown-haired man lounging on the sand, his top half under the shade of a beach umbrella and the rest of him expoed to the sun. It seemed a seagull had also found that spot an excellent place to relax, and had perched on the sleepers stomach.

"Look. Greg made a friend." Said that same, sweet-as-sugar voice.

The seagull gave a wail, waking up the younger Greg, who quickly swatted the bird away in a blind panic resulting in the mysterious voice to laugh once more. Steven could listen to that laugh all day.

It cut to the next scene, again of Greg.

"Go on." The voice said.

"Sorry, I'm getting stage fright here." Despite the strikingly different appearance, Greg's voice was the same.

"Tell us about yourself."

"Well then, let's see here… my name is Greg. No! No, this is all wrong!"

The scene cut and changed to show a blue crab wandering in the sand.

"Okay, go!"

The screen panned up to show Greg posing on a rock, now with a pair of sunglasses and a guitar.

"They call me…" He strummed the guitar, " ! Get ready baby, you're gonna have the coolest dad this side of the cosmos!" Greg micked a guitar riff before saying, "Press the button, Rose."

"Oh, right!" A colorful flash of pink with golden stars streaked across the screen, "Was that the right one?"

"I dunno. Maybe?"

"What does this one do?"

The screen darkened, showing only a star-shaped view of the screen, getting smaller and smaller until it was gone completely and left nothing but blank screen. Then the next scene was Greg sitting on the beach, facing the waves as a group of seagulls landed all around him.

"Isn't it remarkable, Steven? This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them."

The screen shifted in a circle to show the woman holding the camera, and Steven could feel his heart stop for just a moment. He had seen her image in the picture that constant hung above him, and in the way Amethyst shapeshifted into that exact likeness, except with that purple hue. But this was different. This was real.

Peachy skin, flawless in every way, with a beautiful white dress and carnation pink hair that was so perfect that it reflected all the light around it. Baby pink lipstick blended perfectly with the rest of her colors, and hot pink eyes that were brighter than any star.

"We can't both exist. I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself is me loving you, and loving being you! Because you're gonna be something extraordinary. You're going to be a human being."

"Hey Rose!"

The Rose Quartz looked off screen for just a second, but even then it was far too long.

"Take care of them, Steven."


	20. Everything at once

"Great stars above they're everywhere!"

They _were _everywhere! Small, dark green, with a mane of white like a lion's. A short, insect-like body with four ragged black legs and a rear that ended in a sharp pincer. Their heads were black too and, as far as Steven could tell, lacked eyes, and most of the head was taken up by a large, powerful mandible.

Steven was cowering from then on his bed, clutching his blanket around himself and whimpering as Spinel stood guard around him and made sure none of the nasty creatures could get to him.

"None of these Nephrites have gems!" Pearl said; every time she stabbed one, two more would gang up on her.

"These are Stark Beetles." Garnet said as she smashed a small group of them into dust, "There has to be a spawner somewhere."

"Stark Beetles?" Amethyst said, cracking her whip to strike one of the creatures, "They look more like centipedes to me!"

Spinel and Amethyst gasped, and said as one, "Centipeetles!"

* * *

Steven was reminded of that day when he saw those creatures again. They were just as he remembered: insect like, slobbering jaws full of corrosive green spit. And they came in the same multitudes they had all those years ago, with the same need to bite and tear and destroy anything in their path.

"Ugh!" Pearl stabbed a nearby stark beetle and came back-to-back with Amethyst, "It's another infestation!"

Garnet stood on a higher rock, crushing any of the creatures that tried to get a nip at her. "The spawner must be nearby."

"Good!" Pearl said, "That means we can finally finish this!"

Garnet shouted as one of the creatures spat its toxin over her and her rock, but all it took was a simple shake to get the slime off of her. The centipeetles looked offended that she had overcome them so easily, but one of them took the opportunity provided by the distraction to latch its beak around Amethyst's leg.

Amethyst screamed. Pearl turned around and lunged her spear at the monster and it was gone in a cloud in an instant.

"Amethyst, are you okay?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Been better."

Spinel swung her mallet down on a group of them, sending multiple into the oblivious and others flying through the air.

Steven ran over to Pearl. "What can I do?"

Pearl shoved Steven to the side just in time to stab an offending monster. "You can stay out of the way!" Then she was off again.

"But I could-"

"They're all coming from the tower!" Garnet said, "The spawner must be inside.

"We can't go in there!" Pearl objected, "It's unstable from all the corrosion!"

"I'd hate to say it," Spinel said, "But I agree with Pearl."

"Then we'll just bring the whole place down!" Garnet jumped down from her rock, and a few of the centipeetles went flying. "Amethyst."

Garnet held out her hand.

Steven felt a wave of panic wash over him.

"Garnet, no!" Pearl said quickly, "Steven's here! We need to be careful!"

"We don't need to be careful." Garnet's visors gleamed, "We just need to be huge."

Realization washed over Steven. "Wait, are you guys gonna fuse?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst destroyed another creatures, "Let's mash it up! Bigger, badder, better!"

She gave a loud cheer and ran over.

"Garnet, please." Pearl pleaded, "Sugilite can be a bit… unstable! Why not Sardonyx or Chalcedony?"

Garnet ignored Pearl's pleas. "Synchronize."

Garnet's gems glowed a bright magenta hue, and music hung in the air; a deep, steady beat matched with a crazed warping that brought the differences of both.

Pearl covered Steven's eyes.

"Come on Pearl, I wanna see!"

The music continued to surround them.

"What's happening? Why is there music?"

"They're synchronizing." Spinel said.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a type of dance prior to a fusion. Each dance and each sound is unique to each fusion." Pearl explained slowly, "This just happens to be Sugilite's dance."

There was a sudden, jarring screech and a rush of powerful laughter, then a voice. Not quite Amethyst, not quite Garnet. "It feels great to be me!"

Steven finally managed to get away from Pearl's blocking hands and see the outcome of what he had missed. Where there once stood two was only one: Powerful, violet and black. Ripped pants of both colors and a torn shirt much the same with a hole cut to allow Amethyst's gem to breath. A mane of black the same color as Garnet's hair, but with the wild nature that belonged to Amethyst. Visors like Garnet's covered the two lower eyes, but left a third at the top exposed. Two biceps splitting into four forearms.

Many of the centipeetles had the sense to stop attacking, and backed up as they stared at their new enemy in mounting horror. Steven almost wanted to join them in their fear, but another part of him told him that he was completely safe.

"That's Sugilite?"

Sugilite grinned a toothy grin. "You got it, baby! Hey, Steven." She waved two of her arms, "Wanna see something cool?"

"Yeah!"

Steven went to run to them, but was held back by Spinel on his right and Pearl on his left. Both gems glared at each other for daring to copy them, but then turned their attention back to Steven.

"Come on guys," Steven pleaded, "I wanna see Sugilite's trick!"

"Yeah." Sugilite growled out, "Let the boy see."

Pearl huffed. "He just see just fine from back here."

"Yeah!" Spinel agreed.

"Ugh." Sugilite scoffed, "Picky, picky, picky. Check this out."

On Sugilite's two upper arms appeared gauntlets very similar to Garnet's, but more purple than red, and one of her lower arms reached into her amethyst gem and produced a whip like Amethyst's, only bigger. She grinned, and then brought the weapons together in an explosion of violet, and what came out in the end was both and neither; like a fusion in itself. A whip-like handle ending in the two gauntlets with their palms against each other.

Steven gasped.

"Sugilite's flail..." Worry dripped into Spinel's voice.

"Oh dear." Pearl whispered.

"Haha! You like that little man!" Sugilite grinned.

"Yeah..."

Everyone was shocked at Steven's worried tone, but none so more than him.

"I mean, yeah!" He concentrated on making himself sound excited, he was excited! But then, why didn't he sound like it? "Are you gonna smash stuff with your wrecking-ball-thingy?"

Sugilite clicked her tongue. "That's the plan! Now," She tossed her flail over her shoulder, "Where should I start?"

Steven hummed. "There!" Steven pointed to a pillar, "Do that one!"

Sugilite didn't need to be told twice. She wound up her weapon and brought it down hard against the pillar Steven had pointed out, shattering it into a million peices upon impact. Without the support to hold it up, it brought down a section of ceiling with it, and with the celling a downpour of angry, snapping centipeetles. Then they saw just what they were snapping and quickly clamped their jaws shut, and not a second after Sugilite had already brought her flail down on top of them.

Pearl put her hands on Steven's shoulders and held him tight. "Steven, I think we should go."

"What? But this is awesome!"

Sugilite smashed another pillar, dangerously close to the group, and this time the worry Steven felt was genuine. Worry and fear both. Pearl intercepted a piece of debris that would have otherwise struck Steven, and Spinel worked to keep them upright through the windstorm kicked up by Sugilite's great size.

"That's it!"

Pearl picked up Steven.

"What are you doing?" Spinel asked, her arms wrapped around her godson stretching to accommodate the added height.

"I'm sending Steven home!" Pearl said at once, "Let go of him."

Pearl made an attempt to pull Steven away, but Spinel was relentless.

"And how are you gonna do that?"

"I'm gonna bubble him and send him back to the temple! We've transported organics that way before, and Steven won't be any different. So please let go."

"Should I be the one?"

"What? No! My bubbles are way more secure!"

Another shockwave, and more debris flying past them. Pearl and Spinel quickly nodded in a compromise.

"We'll send him together." Spinel said.

"Fair enough."

Pearl gripped Steven's right half, and Spinel grabbed his left. They both hoisted him up into the air as their light began to encase him.

"Wait!" Steven objected, "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope!"

Pink encased his left, and a milky white on his right. In the middle, they met at a standstill, refusing to merge.

"Now, this might sting a little."

'A little' was an understatement. In an instant, he was seeing stars and tasting light. Like a warp, only without the warp stream in between. He was bubbled, then faced with an intense blankness that his mind struggled to fill, and though it lasted an eternity, the next second in was in a dark, heated room surrounded by other bubbled gems; through his warped sense of color, he could see indigo, red, blue, purple, white, and two different shades of pink.

"Am I in the temple?"

His echoing voice was familiar; like the time he had spent with Connie, only alone and in a much tighter space. He could still breath, and that was the important thing.

"This is super freaky!"

He tried to press on the bubble, but it felt solid as stone and just as cold.

"Guess I just have to wait until they get back..."

* * *

Spinel dodged another piece of flying debris. Pearl didn't seem so keen on dodging, and kicked the chunk of rock in half instead.

"Watch it!" A second, smaller rock hit Pearl on the head.

Spinel flinched. "Ouch, right in the gem!"

Pearl rubbed her gemstone and scowled. "Ugh! Sugilite! You're just too much!"

Sugilite growled. "Maybe you're just too little!"

"Sugilite, this has gone on long enough!" Pearl summoned her spear, and it was clear the threat wasn't meant for the scattered centipeetles, "Just take down the structure, find the mother, and unfuse!"

"Why don't you bite me, little gem? But now that you mention it..." Sugilite tapped her chin, grinned, and then raised her flail high. She spun it around one, twice, and three times before sending it flying through the last remaining pillars. "TIMBER!"

Pearl screeched and ducked for cover as the destruction reigned all around her. Sugilite seemed oblivious to the danger and only laughed as she smashed some of the rocks as they came crashing down. This made the cloud of dust larger, the rubble smaller, and the situation far more dangerous. Pearl did her best to protect her gemstone from the onslaught of stone.

She felt durable arms wrap around her waist and pull her under cover.

"Thank you." Pearl said curtly to her pink savior.

Spinel said nothing.

After the dust had begun to clear, all that there was, was the laughter of Sugilite. Sugilite, holding the massive, spawner Nephrite by her pincers.

"Hey, check it out!" She hissed, "The Spawner! It's a big one too!"

She shook the terrified corruption and the nephrite gave a wail and attempted to lean up and bite her attacker.

"Ahahaha! This one's snappy!"

"Sugilite!" Spinel quickly stepped out of cover.

"Here we go..." Pearl knew exactly what to expect.

"Stop tormenting that poor creature and just poof her already!"

Sugilite groaned, and slumped. "Always the hero! Why can't you just get off my back?"

Pearl took the opening to fire an arrow at the Nephrite, piercing deep into her chest and, with a final screech, exploded into nothingness. Her gemstone dropped to the ground below. What little of her spawn that remained followed suit.

Sugilite's attention immediately snapped to Pearl.

"Seriously? I was just playing around." She knelt down and took the Nephrite gemstone between her clawed fingers. "Hey, think I could crack this thing open like a walnut."

"Sugilite, don't you dare!" Spinel warned.

"I'm only kidding. Geeze." Sugilite bubbled the gemstone and sent it away, "And I thought you were the fun one!"

Pearl walked up beside Spinel. "Okay, now that the Nephrite is secured, you can unfuse."

"Sure, I could..." Sugilite waved her arms. "But where's the fun in that!"

"Sugilite..." Spinel said in a warning tone.

Sugilite turned to motion to the destruction around her. "I haven't had this much fun in centuries!"

"It's not meant to be fun," Pearl said, "It was a job, which is over."

"The fun will never be over! But you know what I am over?"

Sugilite raised her flail, laughing that maniacal laugh of her.

"Your attitude!"

She brought the flail down hard on Pearl.

Pearl could feel her light begin to scatter, dissipating in all different directions, and she focused all of her energy into her gemstone. Into not doing what her sense and body desperately screamed at her to do. She could feel the energy rushing into her pearl, forcing it into overdrive to hold her together. Pressure, rising pressure and fracturing and cracking.

Then the pressure was lifted, but the pain was only rising.

Sugilite looked down at her, swinging her flail over her shoulder.

"Oh, stars above." Pearl rubbed her gemstone, and traced her finger down the thin crack in its center. "I need Steven."

Spinel was at her side in an instant, kneeing down in the mud and closely examining the cracked gemstone. She growled, gritted her teeth, and stood to face Sugilite, "That's it, we're leaving! You can join us at the temple when you figure yourself out."

Sugilite didn't care. "Whatever, spinster!"

Spinel helped Pearl to stand.

"Let's just hope Steven can fix that, otherwise we're gonna have to make another trip to Rose's fountain."

* * *

Steven wasn't sure how long he had been waiting in that bubble.

It couldn't had been long before he'd seen an indigo bubble appear close to him, containing a green and black gemstone he assumed to belong to whatever the 'spawner' was. Even later still, he heard the sound of approaches voices and footsteps, and then he saw the gems that the voices belonged to: Pearl and Spinel.

"There you are!" Pearl said; a bandage was wrapped around her forehead for some reason.

Spinel stretched her arms up, grabbed Steven's bubble, and pulled it safely down to the ground before popping it. Steven fell out and landed on his stomach with a thud.

He expected immediate relief at being freed of the confines, but all that he felt was intense pain. Burning and freezing, hot and cold. Anger and fear and pain and anguish and overwhelming sadness. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he control himself? Why did he hurt those people, why was he still hurting? He just wanted the pain to stop. He had to bite, had to hiss, had to scratch and fight and attack and listen and command and run and hide all at the same time. He was on fire and he created ice all around him, and then he was flying through the sky on wings of water, and then he was falling to the earth with nothing to stop him but the wind that stung against his body.

He had two eyes, three eyes, one eye. Two arms, three arms, four arms, six arms. Two heads, two gems, two bodies one mind. He was toxic and he was a healer and he could fight but he didn't want to. He saw a bright light, and then there was darkness, and he saw lava and pulled swords out of it. He was protecting others, and he was being protected by others, and he was scaling walls of ice and diving deep into magma pits and boiling water. He was fighting in a great war, and he was on both sides. He was stabbing someone, and he was being stabbed. He was being corrupted and changes and manipulated and broken.

He fell in love and he fell out of it, he felt deep hatred for himself, and then he was loving himself.

And then it was all over.

"Steven! Steven!"

Steven blinked, and he was himself again. He was no longer in that room, surrounded by all those feelings and memories that faded as soon as he opened his own eyes. The only ones around him were Spinel and Pearl, not the soldiers fighting beside him and fighting against him and fighting for him. Fighting for... who?

"What happened?"

"You collapsed." Pearl said.

"I did?" Steven worked to sit up, and Spinel helped him.

"Yeah!" Spinel said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I..." Steven struggled to think of an excuse, "I think I'm just thirsty."

"Steven, I need you to heal me."

Before Steven could ask what Pearl meant, she had removed the bandage from her forehead to show a thin, but nonetheless dangerous, crack disrupting her usually flawless gemstone.

"Omigosh!" Steven covered his mouth, "What happened?"

"Sugilite happened." Pearl groaned, "Ugh! I knew this would happen! Rose..." Pearl quickly covered her mouth with her hands, and when she pulled them away, she said slowly, "Rose would have never let them form Sugilite. Chalcedony and Sardonyx would have been just fine." Pearl kneeled down beside Steven. "I need you to heal me Steven."

Steven blinked. "But... I've never healed a gemstone before! Maybe we could just go to mom's fountain?"

Pearl shook her head. "You need to learn to do this, Steven. We won't always be able to rely on the fountain."

Steven looked beyond Pearl, to Spinel. Spinel gave a single nod urging Steven on. Steven took a deep breath.

"Um. Do you... think I can just lick my hand and put it on your gemstone, or do I have to actually... lick you?"

Pearl shivered, but Steven couldn't tell if it was from the crack or from disgust; both, perhaps.

"Please at least try the first one, okay?"

Steven nodded.

He wasn't sure who was more nervous; him, or Pearl. He built up a great deal of spit in his mouth, then let it dribble into a pile on his hand. Pearl shivered again, and gagged from the sight alone. Steven looked to her pitifully.

"Sorry."

The moment Steven approached her with the handful, Pearl screeched and fell backward, trying desperately to crawl away.

"No, no! I changed my mind! Let's go to the fountain! LET'S GO TO THE FOUNTAIN!"

Steven didn't falter. He followed Pearl until he had her backed up against a wall, and then he pressed his wet hand to her gemstone. In a flash of pink, the crack in its center was quick to fill with rose-shaped light, filling in the gap and bridging the gemstone together to restore it.

Steven gazed in astonishment. "IT WORKED!"

"Oh!" Pearl clapped her hands together, "Yay Steven!"

Then she seemed to remember what 'it' was, and then it was time for her to panic again. She screamed, reached into the very gemstone that had just been healed, and pulled out a wet wipe. She used it to clean her gemstone, all the while screaming about how unsanitary is was, and how much cleaner Rose's tears had been. Steven stopped listening the moment she started talking.

Spinel put both her hands on Steven's shoulder, and pulled herself behind him a stretchy bound.

"Spinel, why did Sugilite hurt Pearl?" Steven asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

Spinel didn't seem to want to look at him. "Sugilite is unstable, Steven. Think of a wild animal, or a gem mutant, except with a more... violent mindset."

"Well, why don't they unfuse? Why didn't they come back?"

"They... need time to calm down. It might take a while for their synchronization to wear off."

"Yes." Pearl finally seemed satisfied that her gemstone was clean, or at least clean enough. "Complete synchronization is a very delicate operation, and sometimes the risks outweigh the rewards."

"I still don't understand why they had to do that." Steven said, "When you and Amethyst formed Opal there wasn't any music! You didn't even dance! How rude."

"Not rude, Steven." Pearl corrected, "Necessary. Amethyst and I didn't have time for a proper fusion, given the... situation at the time. Let me assure you, it was complete and utter chaos inside Opal for the time we remained fused." Pearl laughed and waved her hand. "Had it been a proper synchronization, we would have stayed fused for long longer, and been much more stable."

"Is that why Opal seemed to... air-headed?"

Pearl looked offended, and huffed.

"No, Opal is just... like that. And you didn't need to be so rude about it."

Steven felt bad, until Spinel tapped him on his shoulder and he saw her with her tongue hanging out, her eyes spinning around, and swirling her finger in a crazy motion around the side of her head. Then Steven laughed in a pure, unmatched joy, and Spinel laughed along.

"This is hardly a laughing matter." Pearl scoffed. "We have a dangerous fusion out there!"

"Sugilite has never hurt a human before." Spinel said, and then her certainly grew to conern, "Then again, they've never been given the chance... oh."

"Exactly." Pearl put a hand on her hip, "We have to go back out there and force her to unfuse!"

"Um. How do you expect us to poof a fusion of a quartz soldier and Garnet? Rose could barely do that!"

"Well we have to try! We'll take Steven upstairs, and then we gotta go back out there and find them!"

"But I want to help!" Steven protested, and was met with a small pat from Pearl.

"I know you do Steven, but you're not ready to handle anything like this!"

Steven looked to his friend for help. "Spinel?"

Spinel wouldn't look at him. "She's right Steven, you gotta stay here."

Steven felt himself turn cold, and every emotion he might have had in that moment was blocked out in that intense chill that made him want to cry, but he was too cold to cry. You were supposed to be angry and hot and aggravated when you cried, or else frozen in your fear but that was a completely different type of cold. This cold was empty and endless.

"I always have to stay here. You guys always go on the cool missions, and I have to stay behind."

"Steven, we have thousands more years of experience than you do." Pearl explained, and it only made Steven angrier despite her gentle tone.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO GET EXPERIENCE IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO ANYWHERE!" Steven slapped his hands over his mouth.

"Steven!" Pearl gasped, and even Spinel looked shocked.

"I don't know why I said that!" Steven insisted, and truly he didn't.

"You've been acting weird all day." Spinel commented. "Maybe you're sick?"

"I'm not sick. I least, I don't feel sick."

"Well what do you feel?"

"I feel... cold. And hot. Happy! And sad. Most of all I just want..." Steven couldn't think of anything.

"To get away from the Burning Room?" Pearl suggested softly.

"Yeah." Steven was relieved that someone was able to put it to words.

"Then let's just go upstairs and get you something to eat." Spinel said.

"And something to drink." Pearl added, "Dehydration is no laughing matter!"

"And you just hang out why we go and search for Sugilite."

Steven didn't want to. He wanted to go with them, to help them find Sugilite. To bring back Garnet and Amethyst and make his family whole again. But just felt so tired, and he wasn't even sure he would have the energy to drink, though he was thirsty. For some reason, hunger was the last thing on his mind.

Spinel took him by his right hand, Pearl took him by his left hand, and though both guided him in the same direction, toward the same goal, they both froze when they realized the other was there.

They stopped, glared at each other intently, and then Spinel was the first to make a move to snatch him. She pulled Steven away from Pearl's arms and into her own, like he was baby, and Steven didn't have the energy to care. Pearl made no attempt to take him back, be did make it clear she was going to be leading the way. Spinel seemed satisfied with that.

Steven blinked, and when he opened his eyes, it was like he teleported. Spinel was gone, Pearl was gone. He was in bed, covered up, with an empty cup on the table beside him, and beside that a jug filled with more water; Steven assumed so he didn't have to walk down and get it himself if he was still thirsty, and he was. He began to pour himself another drink.

"Rough night?"

Steven flinched, but luckily didn't spill much. "Yeah." He responded, and then leaned back to look into the mirror, "Except it's day."

The mirror rippled and showed Steven shrugging.

"Yeah, you're not one for details."

Steven sighed and fell back on the bed, sprawling out as far as his small body could reach.

"It's not fair! I've been on like, a dozen missions, and they still treat me like a kid!"

"Not fair!"

"I know! And when I was in that 'burning room' I felt so scared; like, it wasn't my own fear type of scared, but the other scared."

"The other scared."

"Like, it was somebody else's fear I was feeling, you know?"

"Know."

"No like you don't know, or no like you know?"

"Like you know."

"Oh! So you do understand?"

"Yeah!"

"That's great! It's nice having someone to talk to."

"It's nice having someone to talk to."

"And someone to listen."

"And someone to listen."

Steven laughed softly. "You really like repeating stuff huh?"

"You really like repeating stuff huh?" The Mirror repeated, then replayed Steven's laugh track.

Steven laughed again. "You're a good friend." He picked up the mirror and put her on the table beside him, "I hope I can hear your real voice one day. If you have one."

"Have one."

Steven yawned.

"Goodnight, Mirror."

"It's day-Steven."

* * *

They had been plagued with misfortune all day, and Pearl didn't except any different, and she was met with just what she expected. What remained of the structure smashed into a pile of dust, and with Sugilite nowhere to be found.

"She can't have gotten far." Pearl said to Spinel, "I'd hate to say it, but I'm actually hoping she found something else to crush and hasn't just wondered off."

"Sounds like wishful thinking, but okay." Spinel shrugged, "Just don't get cracked again, and we might be able to talk some sense into her."

"You think I meant to be cracked? It was either that or poof and leave you alone to take on Sugilite! Besides, I knew Steven could heal me, so it was for the best anyway. Otherwise I would have been out of commission for a week at least."

"Not my fault you take a week to reform."

Pearl scoffed. "When I'm sorry if I want to get my form just right! It's only my body, not like it's anything important or anything."

"Oh, hush up!"

"Excuse me?!"

"No, I mean shush!"

"Why you-"

Spinel covered Pearl's mouth with her glove, and Pearl shouted her muffled anger. Then she stopped when she heard the distant sounds of crashing and laughter that echoed through the rocky valley.

Once Spinel saw that Pearl understood, she let her go and they both continued to listen.

"Sounds like she found something else to smash..." Spinel said.

"Yeah, well, let's just hope it's nothing human-made." Pearl added.

She summoned her spear, and Spinel summoned her mallet. Both exchanged grim looks, and they made sure to stay close to each other as they both perceived the threat.

Finding Sugilite was easy enough, and they soon discovered her attempting to tear apart a mountain at its foundation, growling and barking her frustration as she ripped rocks out of the earth and threw them behind her, into a forest plagued by her destruction. She seemed more animal than gem, an animal that needed to be controlled.

Spinel turned her hand into a telescope, and after a minute passed, she said, "Sugilite's got a gem corrupted trapped in a cave in the mountain. Looks like a pyrope."

Pearl huffed. "She's tearing apart the earth to get at a pyrope?! The only corruption that could justify this time of behavior would be a diamond itself! Anything else is just- ugh!"

"Well then let's stop her."

"Wait!" Pearl cried out to Spinel, but it was no use. She was already gone, and Pearl resigned herself to following suit.

"Sugilite!"

Sugilite only huffed and puffed, continuing her digging through the mountainside. She threw a large hunk of rock behind her, and Spinel watched as it flew through the air and landed in a nearby tree with a heavy boom that sent countless birds and other critters scattering for cover.

"AMETHYST!"

That caught Sugilite's attention. She stopped her digging, bared her pointed teeth, but didn't turn around.

"What do you want?"

"You need to unfuse. Now!"

Pearl finally caught up to Spinel and took her place at her allies side.

"Says who?!"

Sugilite turned around.

"Says me!" Pearl pointed her spear at Sugilite with no intention of firing.

"You. I thought I cracked you." Sugilite's angry expression turned into a grin, and she cracked her knuckles. "Guess I'll have to fix that."

"Sugilite, you don't know what you're DOING!"

Pearl's words ended in a terrified shriek as Sugilite took a single, heavy step toward her and shook the ground.

"Oh I know exactly what I'm doing." Sugilite kneeled down and grabbed a giant hunk of rock, "And know exactly what you'll be doing: running!"

Sugilite launched the rock at Pearl. Pearl prepared her spear, ready to protect herself, but again Spinel was faster. She shot her arms forward, her hands grew three times in size, and she grabbed the rock firmly. The fire of the projectile sent her flying a few feet back. She dug her heels into the dirt, digging up earth in her wake, and once she was sure she had stopped the momentum, she smashed the rock between her hands.

Sugilite seemed genuinely shocked. Angry at herself. "Garnet!" her voice teetered on the ends of Amethyst's, then shifted to a softer tone, "Sorry, wrong timeline." She growled, holding her head and shaking. "Hold it together."

"Their fusion's becoming synchronized." Spinel whispered to Pearl.

"Sugilite." Pearl stepped forward, "It's time to come home."

It seemed Sugilite was too lost in her inner battle to listen, even if she wanted to. She cradled her head in her hands, growling and barking and occasionally saying a semi-coherent word, all muffled. She stumbled back against the mountain and fell down against it with another, earthshaking wail.

"Sugilite." Pearl didn't stop her approach, "It's time to come home."

Sugilite stopped moving. She stopped making noises, and stopped shaking her head. She lowered her hands, glared up at Pearl with her single visible eye rolling in its socket, and grinned that evil grin.

"You want me to go home?"

Pearl gulped, and took a step back. "Yes."

Sugilite rose to her unsteady feet and gaze down at the smaller gems. "Fine then. I'll go home."

"Great!" Pearl clapped her hands together, but apprehension was still etched in her features and in her voice, "Now, just unfuse and…"

"Unfuse? Oh, no, no, no, no." Sugilite loomed dangerously close. "I'll go home but I won't unfuse."

"Sugilite…"

"Nuh uh, no way! We, I mean I, am not ready for this fun to end. But do you know what would be even funner? Having an audience!"

"Sugilite, you can't!" Pearl objected, "The humans would be terrified of you!"

"Even better! Then the'll truly appreciate what I can do! And Steven will be my right hand man!"

This time, it was Spinel's turn to interject. "You are not bringing Steven into this!"

"What are you gonna do about it, springtrap?"

Sugilite bent down and put her hand on her knees in a condescending motion, as if she was talking to a young child.

She got her answer when Spinel slapped her in the face, but before Spinel could pull her arm back, Sugilite grabbed her and was easily able to pull her off the ground and spin her around in the air like a lasso. Then she laughed, taking far too much pleasure in the act, and grabbed Spinel by her legs instead before beginning to treat her like the ball of a paddle-ball.

Spinel tolerated this treatment for a time, too shocked to process what had happened for at least a minute after, until she finally found her senses. While she was flying out, she stretched as far as her body could tolerate and wrapped her arms around a nearby tree. When Sugilite went to pull her back, Spinel stopped herself full-force, enough to pull her herself free of Sugilite's assault.

"Ugh." Her body laid tangled around itself as she struggled to pull herself back together.

"Spinel, you okay?" Pearl called.

Spinel gave a shaky thumbs up. "Never been better."

"That's it!" Pearl decided her spear was no longer just for show. If they wouldn't unfuse, she'd make them unfuse.

Sugilite laughed as the spear pieced her side. "That tickles."

Pearl shook away her shock, and summoned another barrage of arrows. "I hate to have to do this."

Sugilite's eye glimmered with anticipation, and she pounded her fists against her palms. "Give it your best shot, beauty queen."

Pearl threw her spears, but Sugilite was ready.

What spears she didn't catch bounced off her as if she were made of stone. "Pathetic. I was hoping for more of a fight." She turned her back on Pearl.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Spinel shouted from where she still laid on the ground.

Sugilite paused, and looked over her shoulder. "Home."

* * *

Steven woke up to the beam of the warp pad. He sat up quickly, his heart fluttering at the thought of seeing all four of the gems back where they belonged, only to dissapoint himself when he was met only with a defeated Pearl and a downtrodden Spinel.

"No luck?" He asked.

Pearl looked to Spinel, and Spinel shook her head. "No luck."

"Aw man." Steven shoved off his blanket.

In an instant, Spinel was at his side and feeling his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Steven said, "I'd feel better if Garnet and Amethyst were here, though."

Spinel put a hand on Steven's shoulder and gave him a sad look.

"No time to get emotional!" Pearl said, "Sugilite could show up at any time!"

Steven's heart skipped a beat. "Huh?"

Spinel blinked slowly. "She did say she was coming home..."

"And if she gets into town, those poor humans will be terrified of her!"

"Not to mention she'd smash everything. What do you think we should do?"

As they continued to talk, Steven felt smaller than ever. It was as if he wasn't there; they were talking to him, but not with him. He could hear them, but knew if he tried to make his voice heard, the exact opposite would happen. But he could at least try.

"Could I do anything?" He asked hopefully."

"I don't know," Pearl said, not once acknoledging Steven's prescence, "We could evacuate? We do have contact with Mayor Dewey."

"Well we don't want to cause a panic!"

"Guys?" Steven tried again.

"Well, we don't need to tell Mayor Dewey what's headed this way; just that they need to get out of her way."

"I guess."

Steven crawled off of the bed, taking his mirror with him.

"But what if they encounter Sugilite on their way? They'd be defenseless in their cars!" Spinel pointed out.

"Oh, true! I didn't think of that!"

"Bye!"

Their conversation didn't stop, and so Steven just left. When he found a place alone under the shade of a rock, he looked down at his reflection.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

The mirror became Spinel and blew a raspberry.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Who is- Sugilite?"

"She's a fusion of Amethyst and Garnet." Steven explained, then quickly added, "Do you know what a fusion is?"

"Yeah!"

"That's great! Cause I really don't know how to explain it."

The mirror laughed.

"What should I do?" Steven asked, "I want to be useful but they won't let me."

The mirror thought. "Not-fusion-Sugilite!"

"Eh?" Steven thought, "You mean unfuse?"

"Unfuse-Sugilite!" The mirror repeated.

Steven felt himself filling with warmth. "You think I can?"

"Yeah!"

Steven hummed. "I dunno. She was big."

The mirror said nothing for the longest time, and then she showed a clip of Garnet bending down to hug Steven. Then, a clip of Amethyst and Steven having a pie-eating contest (Amethyst won, of course). Then Garnet blowing a kiss to Steven, Amethyst and Steven playing video games, all three of them watching TV together.

"Okay, I get it!" Steven said, and the mirror stopped showing the memories. He picked her up. "But I've never fought anything by myself."

"I-can-help!"

* * *

Sugilite knew exactly where she was going. She could see herself finding Beach City any minute now, but anything after that faded into the oblivion beyond her reach. It didn't matter. She'd find out soon enough.

Where?

Left.

She went left.

Watch where you're stepping.

Sugilite growled, shaking her head to rid herself of the voices that bounced around inside. See that tree? Yeah. It's too big, I don't like it. I want to smash something! Let's smash that tree, smash that tree!

Sugilite did just that. She ripped up the tree by its roots and tossed it.

Look at it go! I'm looking, I'm looking! Let's do another! No. Yes! Fire! Ice. Wait.

Beach City.

Let's show them how to be strong in the real way.

Must be strong, can't be weak. Strongest, strongest. Best of the best. Better, bigger, badder. Must! Must not! Have to! Have to!

Sugilite made up her mind. She tilted her head back and roared into the air, breathing out a great stream of fire.

"I'm coming home, baby!"

* * *

"Steven?" Spinel noticed he was missing the moment she got a break from her conversation, "Where's Steven?"

"He probably just went to the Big Donut." Pearl said, "You know he likes it there."

Spinel ran over to look out the window, to try and get a glimpse toward the restaurant to see if Steven was truly on his way over there, but instead she saw a glimpse of something else: Fire.

"I think I found Sugilite."

* * *

I got this! No you don't! Let me do it! Move! Watch out! Stop moving. I can't see!

_Stop_.

Sugilite stopped. That wasn't one of her voices.

"Huh?"

"I... said stop!"

Sugilite looked around. Where? There.

She growled softly once she spotted Steven on the ground, hidden in her shadow and cowering behind that dumb mirror of his.

"Hahaha! Little man! Come to see me do my stuff?" Sugilite grinned.

Steven swallowed, and shook his head. "No I... I came to stop you..."

Sugilite blinked. "Me? Stop me?"

Steven nodded.

"You? I could _crush_ you!"

Steven closed his eyes. "Then do it."

"Huh?" Sugilite stepped back. What is he doing? I don't know! Just listen...

Steven opened one eye, and then the other. "Please. I don't like seeing you like this."

Like what? What does he mean? I told you, just listen.

"I want Garnet and Amethyst back. I want you _both_ back. I know you like being Sugilite, but I don't think you should be her anymore. Pearl said you 'synchronized'. So, can you... unsynchronise? Please?"

Look at him! Those eyes! I want, I need, I don't. Sugilite could feel herself being ripped apart. Want, need, don't. Need to be, want to be strong. Need it, want it, live it.

"It... _hurts_!"

"Please." Steven appealed to them again, and his voice rose above all else, "_Please_!"

Want, need, don't. _Want_ to separate... _need_ to separate... _don't_ separate...

Parts tried to rip apart, and others pulled them back.

Stop! _Stop_! "Stop! _Stop_! _Stop_!"

She needed it to stop. It needed to stop. _Any_ _way_ _possible_. She grabbed a tree, uprooted it, and lunged it at Steven with a great wail of pain.

* * *

Spinel froze, and grabbed Pearl before she could run any further. "Is that Steven?"

Pearl laughed. "Don't be silly! Of course it's not Steven!"

Spinel grabbed Pearl's head and forced her to look toward the ground.

"What?! Steven!" Pearl went to run, but Spinel immediately stopped her.

"We can't go down there! Sugilite'll stomp us! Again!"

"Well, at least we can reform! Steven can't!"

"We can't protect Steven if we're poofed!"

Pearl thought, and then the solution came to her in an idea that made her sick to her gemstone ache.

"Spinel... you're right."

Spinel looked to Pearl as if she were crazy. "Huh?"

"We're no use to Steven if we're trapped in our gemstones." Pearl hung her head, and then held out her hand to the pink gem. "Steven doesn't need us. He needs Sodalite."

Spinel stepped back, her eyes fixed on Pearl's hand. The pink color of her skin heated up to a bright red, and steam shout out of her ears in her rage.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Pearl had expected that reaction, but it shocked her nonetheless.

"You think I'm some idiot? That I don't know what happens every time you fuse?!"

"I... what?"

"You fuse into Rainbow Quartz, and you force Rose to stay with you for weeks cause you can't bare the thought of letting her go!"

"I..."

"You fuse into Opal once to save Steven's life, and you've been obsessed with her ever since!"

"Goddesses only know what'll happen if we form Sodalite! I mean, I'd hope you'd have the sense to see it'll turn out like all the others! I mean, you've had the sense not to try it with Sardonyx. Yet."

"I would never do that to Garnet..."

"Why don't I believe you?

Pearl hung her head in shame. "I know I'm not exactly the best fusion partner, but that doesn't matter now! What matters is Steven, and I can't do it alone, neither can you."

Spinel's pigtails drooped.

"So we have to do this together..."

* * *

Steven screwed his eyes shut as the projectile flew toward him, but he didn't move. He held his mirror in front of him, hoping, praying, that she was right. That what she said would happen would happen. Please, please, please!

He wasn't flattened, and so he opened his eyes, and there was another shadow looming over him. Not Sugilite's bulky, brutish frame, but a slender shadow with hair that curled into a heart and two arms to compare to Sugilite's four.

"Holy giant woman..."

She stood just a little taller than Opal had been, towering high over the trees and coming up to Sugilite's shoulders. Delicate white skin blemished with pink, heart-shaped markings all throughout her body. A pointed nose, four eyes of pink and blue and, as the shadow had shown, two arms. Her hair was a pale pink, similar in style to Pearl's, only backward, and where the hair would come to point instead curled down to form a single heart on her forehead over her stained-pink pearl gemstone.

"Steven!" Her voice was light and bubbly, and one of her arms shot down with all of the dexterity of Spinel to seize him in her gloved hand and pull him close. "What are you doing down there?"

Steven was too taken aback to respond right away, and now that he was closer, he took the opportunity to get a better look at her. She had a black with a collar that dipped low enough to allow Spinel's gem to breath, and the sleeves of the outfit were as white as her skin and blended in almost perfectly. She had a bow wrapped around her waist that separated her top from her skirt; a beautiful, frilled white skirt with pink hearts and blue moons in an alternating pattern. Beneath that was a pair of white tights that lead into a pair of equally white ballet shoes, with a heart-shaped pom-pom on their front.

"You're beautiful." Steven said.

"And you're grounded." The fusion looked away from Steven and to Sugilite. "It's time to unfuse, Sugilite."

Sugilite growled. "Over my dead body."

The other fusion closed their eyes, and sighed. "Very well." She sat Steven on a nearby tree.

From her gems she pulled out Spinel's mallet and one of Pearl's spears, and brought them together. When the light cleared, only one weapon remained: Pearl's spear, but with a newfound, cartoonish appearance to it.

She got a grim look on her face. "I didn't want to have to do this..."

She aimed her spear, Sugilite got ready. When the spear went flying through the air right toward Sugilite's chest, she raised her hands to stop it, but the moment her claws met its surface, it exploded with a sharp pop like a balloon. Heart and moon shaped confetti blew out and all over Sugilite.

"What the?"

The fusion threw another spear, this one aimed toward Sugilite's forehead. Again, Sugilite got ready to protect herself from it, but then the spear paused suddenly a few feet in front of her. The tip spiraled open, and out came a cartoon flower.

"Huh?" Sugilite leaned closer to it, and then it sprayed a weak stream of water at her before exploding into pink glitter.

Sugilite bared her teeth at the fiasco, but then her hatred turned to laughter. "Ha! That was kinda funny, Sodalite!"

Sodalite grinned. "You ain't seen nothing yet! Haven't!" She growled at herself.

_Sodalite_. She reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a bushel of roses. She winked with two eyes, took a deep breath, and blew into the flowers. Their petals began to turn white, but half-way through seemed to reconsider. That didn't stop them from growing half-formed white wings and attempting to take off into the sky.

"Oh. Those were meant to be doves."

Sugilite laughed even harder. Sodalite flicked her wrists, and the half-rose half-doves exploded into feathers and petals.

"Okay, next trick!"

She closed her hands together, and when she pulled them apart, she held a deck of cards in her hand.

"Pick a card-" She lost her groove, and the cards went flying out of her hand. She grabbed the ones she could, but most drifted down to the ground and exploded into a cloud of dust, "Any of these... three cards!"

Sugilite laughed even harder. "She-she dropped the cards!" Sugilite smacked her knees.

"Okay, not one for card tricks!" In a flick, what remained of the cards were gone. Sodalite looked nervous, and a cartoon sweat dropped formed on her forehead. "What's this behind your ear~?"She reached behind Sugilite's ear and, after a few minutes, pulled back empty-handed. "There was supposed to be a coin back there..."

Sugilite tilted her head.

"Wait." Sodalite reached behind her own ear, and produced a large gold coin. "There is it!"

Sugilite gritted her teeth, but couldn't hold back her laughter. Her body began to glow, and then it began to shrink slowly until, where one giant gem once sat, two smaller ones took her place.

"Garnet! Amethyst!"

Garnet sat there unbothered with the smallest of smiles, but Amethyst did nothing to hide her laughter. She fell on her back, clutching her stomach as she laughed.

"The coin-was behind- _her_ ear!"

Garnet gave a simple. "Ha."

Sodalite sighed. She turned back to the tree where she had left Steven watching in awe, and carefully lifted him onto her arms. She sat him on the ground beside Garnet and the laughing Amethyst, and then she glowed, shrank, and left in her place were Spinel and Pearl.

"Amy!" Spinel ran over to Amethyst, "Are you okay?"

Amethyst didn't acknoledge her. "The roses grew wings!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Garnet rose to her feet, and Steven shrank in her shadow.

"Steven." She put her left hand on Steven's shoulder, "I am so sorry."

"It's okay." Steven sank into Garnet and wrapped his arms around her legs, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Amethyst finally got control of herself. "I'm sorry too. I... got a little carried away with Sugilite."

"I'm sorry that I gave the order." Garnet said, "I knew how unstable Sugilite was but I fused into her anyway."

"Yeah. Fusion." Amethyst fell onto her back. "I think I'm gonna steer clear of that for a while if you don't mind.

Garnet nodded slowly. "We both are to blame for Sugilite's madness." Then she turned to Steven, "Steven, what you did was very foolish. You challenged a violent and unstable fusion by yourself, and if Sodalite hadn't have showed up when she had, then Sugilite could have hurt you!"

Steven whimpered. "I just wanted to help, and my friend told me that Sugilite wouldn't hurt me, because you and Amethyst loved me and, when you fused, you became one unit. You both loved me, so that unit loved me. But then you threw a tree at me."

Pearl raised a brow. "Your friend?"

"Yeah! She's super cool! She gives me advice and talks to me in her own way and stuff."

Four sets of eyes were on him, three confused and one nervous.

"Steven." Garnet said slowly, "Tell us about this friend."

"Um." Steven felt scared, but when he clung to the mirror, all that emotion seemed to flow into her instead. "She's... she's nice. She kept me company while you guys were on that mission. She likes jokes..."

"Where... is this friend?" Spinel asked, "I'd like to meet her."

"Um. Here." Steven tapped the mirror, "In here."

"In the mirror?" Pearl gasped.

"Y...yeah. In the. Mirror." Steven looked between all the different faces, and felt all their different emotion flood all around him; fear, apprehension, confusion, hesitance, and a strange realization. A thought that wasn't quite his, that he couldn't quite decipher.

"Steven, I'd like to meet this friend." Garnet held out her hand, "Give me the mirror.

"NO!"

Steven flinched at his own voice and turned the mirror around in his hand. A cacophony of different voices, all saying the same thing, joined in.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Their images spiraled around in the cold pools.

"Steven." Garnet demanded, "The mirror. Now."

"Give it to her, Steven." Pearl added.

Spinel said nothing, and Amethyst looked torn between helping or hiding. The mirror continued to scream.

"She doesn't want to go with you!"

"It's a mirror, Steven!" Garnet growled, "It can't _want_ anything."

"It's a tool, Steven!" Pearl objected.

The mirror paused its screaming enough to say, "That's- a lot- coming from a- Pearl!"

Pearl gasped. "How dare you!"

Mirror continued to scream.

"Steven, give it up. If you won't give it to me, I'll take it from you!"

Garnet reached for the mirror as the mirror screamed her dismay. No, no, no. His friend. He wouldn't let her take his friend!

Steven ran.


	21. Mirror Gem

The gems stood there in shock, even Garnet.

"Did he?" Amethyst said, the first to break the shock.

"He did." Spinel answered.

Pearl covered her mouth with both of her hands. "Oh my... _stars_."

Garnet looked down at the ground. "That _little_ boy is in _big_ trouble."

Then she took off. Pearl gasped.

"Garnet, _No_! I'm sure he doesn't know what he's doing!" Pearl ran after her.

"_Steven_!" Spinel ran after Pearl.

"Wait, I wanna run too!"

Amethyst started off running, then quickly grew tired. She jumped up just high enough to give herself time to fold up, and when she fell back to the ground, she tucked herself in and shot in a spin-dash. Past Spinel, past Pearl, and past Garnet. She slowed herself once she got near Steven, to match his pace perfectly.

Steven looked over to her, "_Amethyst_?"

"Need a lift, little man?"

Steven skidded to a stop, and Amethyst stopped beside him. Steven looked behind them.

"STEVEN!" Garnet's scream shouted in the distance.

He turned back to Amethyst and nodded, too exhausted to respond. He held out his hands to her like a toddler to its mother. Amethyst grinned, and in a flash she had doubled in size. She seized Steven by his sides, held him safely to her chest, and tucked into another spin-dash.

Through the trees and out into the open, past rabbit holes and rocky outcrops and into the sand. The world around seeming to slow to account to her speed. She didn't even need to see to find her way; the vibrations of the earth under her body gave her everything she needed to know: when to turn, when to slow, when to speed. When to dodge, and when to duck, and when to tumble. All this, and she wasn't even going her fastest; she didn't dare do that when she had Steven with her. She knew exactly where she was going to go.

Amethyst stopped right in front of the counter, still holding a disoriented Steven under one arm, and reached into her gem. "One donut, please!" She held out the money, and Sadie stared at her as if she was crazy.

Amethyst looked back at the flaming, black trail behind her.

"Amethyst!" Steven shouted.

"Right, right, sorry." Amethyst said, "Two donuts please!"

"Amethyst!" Steven wailed, "She's gonna kill me!"

Sadie's expression shifted from shock to concern. "Who's gonna kill you?"

"Garnet!"

Concern shifted to confusion. "Huh?"

"Steven ran from the Big G, and now she's after him. All for this little thing!" Amethyst snatched Steven's mirror and waved it in the air.

"Aw, that's gotta be scary." Sadie put her hand to her chest, "But why does she want your mirror?"

"Because the mirror's sentient and she talks to me but the mirror doesn't want to go cause she thinks all the Crystal Gems are monsters! Well, everyone except me, cause she calls me family and that's really sweet, but that's besides the point! Amethyst, they're gonna catch us!"

"Relax, Steve-man!" Amethyst leaned on the counter, "No one can catch me. I'm fast like lightning! Er, make that three donuts there, blondie."

"Of course." Sadie seemed too tired to care anymore, "What kind?"

"Chocolate, jelly filled, and pink frosted!"

"Right away ma'am. Is that for here or to go?"

"Uh." Amethyst looked outside at the approaching Garnet, "Better make it to go."

"Amethyst!" Steven clung to Amethyst's arm, "We have to go!"

"Relax, Steven!" Amethyst said, "We've got plenty of-"

Amethyst's words were cut short when Garnet busted through the door.

"STEVEN QUARTZ UNIVERSE!"

"Gotta run"

Amethyst snatched her donuts, and then snatched Steven. She moved fast, even faster than Garnet could grab her, and she only picked up speed once she got into open ground. She was dashing toward the house, toward the warp pad, and she would decide what to do when she got there. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she stopped abruptly as Spinel crawled out from between the cracks, flat at first but quickly regaining her form.

"Drop him!"

Amethyst turned on her heels and fled toward the shore; if she couldn't _warp_ across the ocean, she'd just have to _run_ across it! But when she got to the line where the sea met the land, Pearl raised up out of the ocean brandishing a spear in each hand.

"Amethyst, stop!"

Amethyst stopped. She made an attempt to run toward the boardwalk, but was quickly met with Garnet. Surrounded on all sides; Pearl at the waters edge, Garnet at the boardwalk, and Spinel from the house. Amethyst shrank back to her normal size, wrapping both her arms around Steven, who kept both of his arms around the mirror.

"End of the line, Steven." She whispered to him.

"No." Steven looked down at the mirror, "I'm sorry!"

The mirror began her chanting of 'no' once again.

"I'm sorry!" Steven sobbed, "I don't know what to do!"

He held it even closer as the gems approached.

"Steven." Amethyst warned.

"Please."

Amethyst looked up at a storm brewing.

"Just tell me what to do!"

Lighting cracked in the distant and thunder echoed not far behind. The mirror stopped.

Instead of screaming faces, she now showed Steven. Not in color, not in detail, but made of water with Amethyst behind him, made of water, and the mirror in his hand made of water. His imagine turned it around to the back, to the cracked gemstone, and he grabbed it. He pulled, and he pulled, and he pulled, until streaks of white flowed all around him aiding in the escape until the gemstone came loose, and all faded back to the present reflection.

"Steven?" Amethyst could truly feel the storm now, approaching fast. She looked at the darkened clouds, then back down at Steven. "If you're gonna do something, do it now man!"

"STEVEN UNIVERSE!" Garnet sounded furious, "Don't you move!"

"You don't understand!" Steven cried out into the winds, "You don't know!"

"I know better than you!"

Garnet began to approach. Steven turned the mirror around and grabbed the gemstone on its backside, and he pulled. Amethyst looked around her as the ocean crashed and roared, throwing Pearl off balance in its currents.

"Um. Steven?"

Steven continued to pull, and the waves grew stronger around them, reaching further onto the shore and only parting where he and Amethyst stood. Pearl went flying through the air by a seemingly invisible force, and landed hard in the sand.

Spinel stared in wonder. "What's going on? Steven?" She tried to approach.

Arm like tendrils stretched out from the water and struck her back like whips controlling animals.

"What in the universe?"

"No." That was all Garnet could say as the tendril's worked to keep her back too.

A few more of the offensive attack came to life all around them, and they looked black under the stormy skies. They reached around Steven, and for the first time, he opened his eyes to see just what these things were that were helping him. They reached around the gemstone, now partially lifted from its prison, but still stuck by a powerful magic that made Amethyst want to retreat back to the hole she emerged from.

The tendrils pulled, and Steven pulled, and then there was wail, a crash and an explosion. Amethyst closed her eyes as a great wave washed over her.

* * *

Amethyst opened her eyes to a bubble of pink around her.

"Woah. Never been in one of these before."

Steven stood in front of her, both arms extended against the sides of their bubble prison. The mirror lay broken at his feet, its back bare without the gemstone; a few of the shattered fractures of glass had found themselves embedded in Steven's arms, and once had pieced Steven's cheek. A thin stream of blood trickled from each of the punctures, and the blood on his face mixed with his tears as he held the bubble around them to keep the water at bay.

Then the water receded, but only from around them; the waves still crashed and the thunder still boomed and the lightning still flashed. And on the shore, among the chaos and the storm, stood a gem.

A beautiful, blue gem in a dark dress, with bare feet and short hair. From the back, Amethyst could see the place between her shoulder blades where her dress cut off and her tear-drop gemstone was on display for all to see.

"You…" She stood facing Garnet, Spinel, and Pearl, "You three knew I was in there…"

Steven fell into Amethyst's arms, and she was ready to catch him the moment he did.

"Steven? You okay?" There was no response.

"You knew I was trapped in there, and you didn't do a thing to help me!"

Steven groaned, but didn't wake up, and that was enough to catch the gems attention. She turned, her eyes glossed over as same as the mirror that had kept her prisoner. Those glossy eyes widened, and then she raised a fist into the air and drew forth a wall of water from the ocean, using it to block her in with Amethyst and Steven. Lightning shot out behind her and illuminate the scene for only a second before it was gone.

Amethyst pushed Steven behind her and held him there, which was increasingly difficult since his unconscious state made him little more than dead weight. The gem continued her slow, unsteady gait toward them, and Amethyst pulled her whip from her gemstone, ready to defend Steven with her life.

"Back off!" She flashed her weapon to show that she meant business.

The gem didn't stop; she didn't even give it a second thought before raising a hand and sending those tendrils out from the rising walls of water around them. The tendrils seized Amethyst's and pried them from her grasp and into their murky depths.

"Hey!"

The gem continued to approach. Amethyst bared her teeth and growled.

"Stay away from him!"

The mirror gem tilted her head; staring into her eyes, Amethyst found it strange to see herself staring back.

"Is he okay?" Her voice was gentle and soothing, not at all like the violence she had just displayed.

Amethyst didn't know how to answer. When she didn't immediately respond, the mirror gem continued her approach, trying to catch a behind Amethyst, but every time Amethyst would move to continue to block her. The gem finally had enough of that, and summoned more tendrils that wrapped around Amethyst's arms and legs, restraining her and pulling her away from the boy she was trying to protect.

"Steven!"

More of the water arms stretched out to catch him before he would have fallen, and the mirror gem fixed him with a pitiful look. Another wave, more tendrils. This time, they wrapped around Steven's wounds, delicately removing the glass and soaking up the blood before reaching out to pull Steven toward their owner.

"No!"

"It's okay." The mirror gem hummed, "It's alright…"

She carefully took Steven in her arms.

"Let him go!" Amethyst wailed.

The gem didn't react. She carried Steven in her arms, running her fingers through his hair and humming a song.

"Who are you?"

The gem turned to look at Amethyst.

"And what do you want?"

The mystery gem's eyes narrowed, and the storm behind her gave more truth to the storm inside.

"I want... to take Steven home."

Amethyst stared. "Huh?"

"I am _Lapis Lazuli_, and they can't keep us here _anymore_!"

The waves gave way in the background, washing Amethyst back to shore.

* * *

She wanted to fly. She wanted nothing more than to take to the skies and fly into the stars, through the vast emptiness back to homeworld and to her diamond. She would bring Steven with her too, her '_family'_. She'd take him away from those monsters that called themselves Crystal Gems and give him a new life on Homeworld, where he could be safe with her. They'd terraform together, and tell their jokes, and laugh just as they always had. She just had to figure out a way to get off of the planet.

She couldn't fly, so she lifted herself and Steven off the ocean floor using the water as her guide; there was lots of it on this planet, just as she remembered. That's what had made it so worthy of her prescence, so worthy of terraforming. So worthy of the gems that were supposed to be planted in its core. She still could only imagine the beautiful gems that could have come of this planet had the war not taken it. Had she not been imprisoned and stolen away by that Pearl and what remained of her army. If only.

Lapis Lazuli pulled more and more water to her aid, until she it was like she was flying even without her wings. Even with her cracked gemstone, trapped on this planet, she had never felt so free. It felt good to have the wind in her hair and the water in her hands and under her feet. So much water. Maybe she could use it to build a staircase to the heavens, to her and Steven's freedom. Back home.

She stopped.

This place she was in, the landscape usually holding thousands of gallons of water in its large sea, seemed familiar. Far too familiar, and at once she knew she she was, and what she was to do.

The moon would help her. The Goddess that owned the night sky, and the goddess who reigned over all gems blue and green and purple. The guardian of the oceans and the water and those who terraformed the planets in her image. She would guide them to the stars, set them free. Lapis knew where she was, and she knew where to go. She knew. She knew.

The Moon Goddess called to Lapis with her siren song, and Lapis couldn't deny it. She had to answer the call.

* * *

Amethyst spat out the sea water that had found its way into her mouth. She had tasted some nasty things in her thousands of years, but seawater was always top-tier grossness. But at least she was out now, because Pearl had pulled her out, and she felt the sand beneath her toes and the wind in her air; if she was human, this would suck.

"What was that?!"

Pearl and Garnet could barely look at their companions, but in the end it was Garnet who decided to speak.

"That was a Lapis Lazuli."

"Well duh!" Amethyst exclaimed, "She told me that herself! I meant what was she doing here! How'd she get in that mirror?"

"I don't know!" Pearl shouted, "You expect me to know?!"

"We'll you're the one who gave the thing to Steven in the first place!"

"You think I wanted this to happen?! If you hadn't helped him to run in the first place we wouldn't have this problem!"

"Right!" Amethyst rolled her eyes, "You'd've just bubbled that Lazuli up and hidden her away without telling us anything!"

"You don't understand the kind of power we're dealing with, if you would have stopped to think-"

"Stop."

The argument stopped at Garnet's command. Pearl and Amethyst turned to Garnet, and then they turned to Spinel. She was standing with her back to them, staring at the rapidly receding ocean and the rapidly disappearing Lapis Lazuli.

"She… took him…"

"Spinel."

Garnet put her hand on Spinel's shoulder, but Spinel quickly shoved her off and spun around with literal flames burning in her eyes.

"SHE TOOK HIM! She took our baby!" Where Spinel's tears touched her cheeks, the pink skin was colored black, adding to the extra tear streaks that had stained her since the day Rose died.

"Spinel, we will get him back."

Spinel barely gave Garnet the chance to finish her sentence, "No we won't!" She shoved an accusatory finger against Garnet's chest, "Cause you're the reason she took him!"

Garnet was lost for words from the hostility, and so she just stood there and allowed the pink gem to take out her rage.

"She said that us three knew she was in there, but I have no idea who she even is! She wasn't facing Amethyst, cause Amethyst was helping Steven!"

Garnet backed up, her chest heaving and a few puffs of smoke escaping from her mouth.

"That must mean she was talking about Pearl and you! You two are to blame! You three are to blame!"

Garnet stepped forward, and immediately after, Spinel stepped back. She still held that hostility all around her, and Garnet only magnetized that with a heat of her own.

"Garnet, don't-" Pearl began.

Garnet blew a smoke cloud from her nose, and walked past Spinel to the ocean; or, at least, to where the ocean should have been. Now, it was nothing but dry, barren wasteland.

"Let's go." She called without looking, "We got a lot of ground to cover if we want to catch up to that Lazuli and Steven."

* * *

The silence was deafening. There were no animals for miles, no water, nothing. Even the sea floor was completely dry and barren of life; it seemed that the lapis had taken with her every lifeform that dwelled in the water she stole. It was better than the alternative, which was to leave all the sea creatures to suffocate and be scorched by the sun as she stole their homes from right beneath their fins and flippers. She hadn't left behind any coral or other plants either, and the ground showed many signs of having those plants having been safely removed and brought along.

Garnet was in the lead, far ahead of Amethyst and Spinel, but never quite out of sight. Pearl had opted to stay behind; she said it was to protect the people of Beach City should the gem return, but Amethyst knew better. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, and countless glares between Spinel and Garnet told her that it wasn't going to change any time soon. Amethyst was beginning to hope that she had stayed behind too, but if she had she knew that this temporary peace between Spinel and Garnet would have long since fallen apart. She was the only thing keeping the calm, and that made her anxious.

"Hey Spins!" Amethyst elbowed Spinel gently and winked at her, trying her best to keep the mood light, "I'll be right back."

Amethyst got ready to dive away into her dash, but she was quickly pulled back. Spinel was crying again, holding onto Amethyst tight and refusing to let go.

"No! Don't go!"

"Huh?" Amethyst quickly came back, "I'm not _going_ anywhere! I'm just gonna go a bit ahead to ask Garnet where we're going. We've been walking for hours."

Spinel only whimpered and tightened her grip.

"Or... I guess I'm not gonna ask."

Spinel's eyes gave the smallest gleam, and she continued to walk, pulling Amethyst alongside her.

"Steven's gonna be okay, you know that right?"

Spinel sniffled. "How would you know?"

"She... seemed to care about him." Amethyst said slowly, "I don't think she meant to hurt him. She said she was taking him somewhere."

"Where?"

Amethyst paused, and looked up at the starry sky. The clouds had gone now, and the storm with them. It was a full moon.

"_Home_."

* * *

"Everybody calm down."

"How can we be calm?!" Lars Baringa cried, "The ocean is gone!"

"I'm aware." Pearl said.

"There's no reason to panic!" Mayor Dewey was red in the face, even more than usual, and coated in sweat, "This kind lady's friends are uh, getting the ocean back right now!"

The mayor tried to put his arm around Pearl, but Pearl quickly stepped out of reach.

"I heard that a missing ocean is a sign of a tsunami!" Said Jenny Pizza, "Should we be like, worried?"

"This ain't no tsunami!" Said her twin, Kiki Pizza, "Did you not see that strange blue woman? And that storm?"

"So what, it's a gem thing?" Jenny Pizza asked.

"I assure you all that you are safe!" Pearl lied.

"How can you be sure?" Asked Sadie, "She took Steven!"

The crowd all shouted their agreement.

"What if it takes my boys?" Vidalia asked, holding Sourcream and Onion close.

"Or my boy!" Said Fryman, holding little Peedee Fryman close.

"Don't you have two sons?" Pearl asked.

Fryman didn't respond.

"This is crazy!" Peedee cried, leaning into his father.

"It's insanity!" Fryman agreed.

"The ocean is gone!" Shouted Nanefua Pizza, pointing at Mayor Dewey, "What are you going to do about it?"

Mayor Dewey pulled at his collar, "Uh. Everyone gets uh. A free donut from the... Big Donut?"

The crowd was not impressed.

"Seriously?!" Lars Baringa said from the back.

"Donut's can't solve everything, Dewey!" shouted, "Trust me, I've tried."

"You clearly don't know what you're doing!" Nanefua accused, and the crowd shouted their agreement.

"Everyone stay calm!"

"Stay calm, stay calm!" Lars Baringa mimicked in a high pitched voice, "Is that all you know how to say?! Stay's calm!"

"Lars, calm down." Sadie stroked Lars arm, "You're gonna give yourself a panic attack."

Pearl sighed. "I'm beginning to wish I went with Garnet."

The crowd gave a collective jump at the sound of a horn blowing.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

Pearl turned around. "Greg?"

Greg was driving slowly through the crowd in his van, sticking his head out the window to get a better view of the road to make sure the crowd was parted before he even dared to continue on.

"Greg, what are you doing?!"

Pearl immediately ran to block Greg's pass. Greg blew his horn, but Pearl didn't move.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"To get my son!" Greg shouted back, "You said he was stolen by some riptide queen, and I wanna know why! Actually, that's a really good name for a song, but that's beside the point! My son is missing!"

"I assure you Garnet and Amethyst and Spinel are going to get him back."

"And I need to be there for it! He's my son!" Greg pulled the van up ever so slightly.

"He's Rose's son!" Pearl argued.

"He's my son too!" Greg counted, "I'm his family just as much as you are! If you don't get out of the way, I'm gonna run you over!"

Pearl scoffed. "As if you would."

Greg pulled up further to show he was not kidding.

"Okay, okay!" Pearl stepped to the side, but before Greg could pull off, she was quick to jump into the passenger seat.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked.

Pearl fastened her seatbelt. "I'm going with you!"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am! Steven would never forgive me if I let you go out there alone and you got hurt."

"You don't have to do this." Greg looked over at Pearl with big, sad eyes.

"It's not up to you to decide what I have to do! I'm my own gem!"

"Thank you."

Greg tried his best to smile, and Pearl did her best to return it. She leaned out the window to face the crowd.

"Go inside and wait. We'll make an announcement when it's safe to come out."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves before listen to Pearl and scatter toward their various houses to take shelter. Greg stepped on the gas, and they pulled off the road and across the beach, to where the ocean would usually sit. Dirt and sand kicked up in their wake, and it didn't take long for them to encounter the countless holes made by the lapis lazuli's havoc.

"Jesus." Greg drove slow, partially to take in just how much damage the gem had done, and partially to avoid hitting a hole too fast and totaling his car. "That gem sure did a number on the ocean, huh?"

"Well, she was a lapis lazuli after all." Pearl stated.

"Is that... dangerous?"

"They're a very powerful gem type, and that particular one seemed to be a perfect cut."

"That's bad?"

"It's bad. Really bad."

"Oh crud. I hope Steven's okay."

Greg flinched and slowed the car to a stop as Pearl touched his shoulder.

"Steven's gonna be fine. He's strong, and he's got Rose's bubbles. Worst come to worst, he could buy himself a few minutes."

"That's not comforting, Pearl!"

"Sorry! Sorry. The truth is I'm freaking out too. I mean, poor Steven can barely use his powers! Ugh! I should have never given him that mirror!"

"Hey Pearl, don't blame yourself. You didn't know it was sentient! You didn't, right?"

"No! I thought it was just another gem artifact! It had a _crack_ for diamonds sake, I thought whatever gem used to be in there wasn't anymore! I wouldn't have given it to him otherwise!"

"I know you wouldn't Pearl. And I know you and me had our differences in the past, but we have something in common now: Steven. And we'd both do anything to protect him, right?"

"That's right."

"Then let's go get him back from that riptide queen who is super mean!" Greg laughed at himself, "That's good, that's real good."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Just step on the gas. The sooner we get to Steven, the sooner I can fix my mistake."

* * *

She watched Steven curiously. She had often seen him something like this through the lens of her mirror prison, lying almost motionless in his 'sleep'. But even then he would move sometimes, to roll over or rub his face or reposition himself. And he never did it like this before; he was always in his 'bed' when be performed that strange ceremony. This wasn't his bed, this wasn't his room or his house. Lapis didn't understand, but she still watched over him.

The walls of water around and beneath them were steadily increasing in high as she drew in more water and more mass for her reach toward the stars. She had reached the tower of her desire, found the artifact of the moon she had sought for, and brought it with her as she made the tower of water. She not only took the artifact, but the guardians. Her poor, poor little shrimp. She had no idea why they looked like she did, all pointed and savage and corrupted. She hadn't even considered that they could be; they didn't have gemstones after all.

Corrupted or not, they were coming with her. They were hers, and she was theirs; at least, most of theirs. A few of them belonged to the other Lapis's that had called earth home in the early days, but the shrimp listened to her all the same. She had told them to stay back, and they did. She knew just how dangerous they could be to gems who couldn't control them, like Steven. So instead of crawling all over her and the family she held in her arms, they circled her. An endless, ever-moving stream of ice.

Lapis Lazuli rubbed her hand through Steven's hair. She wished he would just wake up already, so she could tell him all the fun things they would do once they put this planet behind them. He'd finally get to hear her voice! They had been talking for so many revolutions, yet this would be the first time he ever truly heard her speak. It would be magical, if only he would move.

"It has to be enough." She said to her circling shrimp, "This planet has so much water, it has to be enough to lift us to the stars."

She didn't expect an answer, and didn't get one.

"Oh, Steven's gonna be so happy I saved him! No more running." She rolled him over to look at his face, "No more fear, no more hiding. It'll just be us. Wake up, Steven."

She tapped his face.

"I know it's night, and it's sleep time, but it's not sleep place, Steven."

Steven moaned.

"That's it! You're doing great..."

* * *

"That's it, you're doing great..."

That voice. Steven clenched his teeth and worked up wake up. The first thing he saw through blurred eyes and dancing thoughts was a beautiful, blue face staring down at him. Short, Persian blue hair with skin of deep sky blue and glossy eyes that reflected all around her. She blinked, smiled softly, and tilted her head.

"Oh good! You're awake!"

Steven sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Who are you?"

The blue gem tapped her hand to her chest. "Family."

"Family?" Realization dawned on Steven moments later, "Mirror friend!"

She nodded. "Mirror friend!"

Steven looked over him, and couldn't bite back a scream at what he saw; endless, clear, and seemingly bottomless water swimming with all sorts of sea life. He looked around him and saw the world shifting ever higher in the sky, surrounded by sickening familiar creatures of ice. Crystal Shrimp.

"Where am I? Where are the gems?"

"They're not here." She said, "Don't worry, they can't hurt us anymore!"

"Can't... hurt us?"

She shook her head, and helped Steven to stand. The feeling of standing on solid water, still moving with all sorts of life, was indescribable.

"Can't hurt us!" She repeated, "But I have a name! I am Lapis Lazuli!"

"Lapis... uh hi, I'm Steven." Steven dumbly held out his hand, and Lapis stared at it.

"We've already met."

"Yeah." Steven lowered his hand. "Hey, I recognize that statue!"

Gray on grey, with a rainbow dancing across her ever-moving frame.

"Are... are we at the Moon Spire?"

Lapis grinned. "Yes! I don't know where she is though."

The blue gem wandered away from Steven, to the end of the water, and peered over the edge at the full moon. The crystal shrimp parted to let her past, and left the path open long enough so that Steven could follow after her. He was willing to be left alone, but his gaze ventured down instead of up. Immediately, a sense of vitiligo was instilled in him, and the drop seemed to go on forever into the inky blackness. Steven stepped quickly away from the edge, far too aware of how little space there was to move without moving or being stung by the crystaline creatures that quickly surrounded him.

Lapis clicked her tongue, and immediately the creatures stopped their approach and turned to look at her, despite their lack of eyes. They immediately set off to surround her instead of Steven, and Lapis fell to the ground (if it could even be called that). She watched unperturbed as the creatures advanced on her, not bothered at all by their threatening spikes, dripping with clear poison, or their aggressive presence. Maybe she didn't know?

"Lapis, no!"

Lapis whistled, and the creatures stopped where they were, and Steven did too. The song, flowing through the air all around him, whistling past his ears. Everything was somehow better. Soothing and calming and calling him into the distance toward an unknown destination. He could almost feel himself melting with the emotion, his eyelids heavy like he was falling asleep.

Then he remembered Spinel. And then Amethyst, and Garnet, and Pearl. He remembered his dad. Where did all these water come from? What did Lapis mean? He was never in any danger, not any true danger. He tried desperately to fight the trance, but it was so hard, and it was so late. He wanted to sleep.

Steven.

The trance faded slightly. Where?

Steven.

The darkness around him seemed less dark, and the soothing song seemed less soothing.

"STEVEN!"

Steven was finally himself again. Lapis looked angry. She pushed a few of the crystal shrimp off of her, and Steven couldn't help but notice that the shrimp seemed smoother than usual.

"They followed us."

Steven hurried to end the edge, and the vitiligo was just as strong, but some resolve inside him was stronger. The tower was high, far too fight to clearly make out anything on the ground beyond apart from three vague figures approaching fast.

"Don't they ever leave?"

"Spinel!" Steven called down; he couldn't see who the figures were, but knew that, no matter what, Spinel was one of them.

"Give him back now!"

That was Garnet! The third figure was smaller, maybe Amethyst, but until they spoke Steven couldn't be sure.

"Why can't you just go away?!"

Steven could feel the tower begin to shift on its foundation, getting smaller as Lapis pulled forth a great amount of water from its depths. At the base, three figures became four, and then five, and then six.

"Just leave us alone!"

"Lapis!" Steven grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back, but she stood strong, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm ending this! So we can go home."

* * *

"You think he's up there?" Amethyst asked.

"Where else would he be?" Spinel asked, running forward to take the lead away from Garnet.

"Spinel, don't."

Spinel didn't listen, nor did she care. "Steven!" There was no response, and so she called twice more.

"Spinel!"

Spinel's world seemed suddenly lighter just from Steven's voice alone; it meant he was conscious, he meant he wasn't so hurt he couldn't speak. It meant he was alive. Garnet came to stand by Spinel's side.

"Give him back now!"

"Why can't you just go away?!"

The water began to ripple, and out from its walls came four figures of pure liquid: A tall one, with visors, a medium one with pigtails, and a small one with a mangled mane of hair. All there wore frowns and identical, bored expressions.

"Woah!" Amethyst summoned her weapon with eyes round as saucers as she came to face her double; the doppelganger did the same with the same, fluid motion.

"It's like seeing double!" The water-gem mirror-copied Spinel down to the last detail.

"Don't let them distract you." Garnet said, summoning her gauntlets as her twin did the same, "We have to get Steven back at any cost."

"Just leave us alone!"

Garnet was the first to throw a blow at her double, and the shaped water did the exact same motion. Both Garnet's met in a standstill, causing no more damage than a simple shock wave as their gauntlets met. Garnet tried a different motion, and the other Garnet copied again, blocking her path.

Amethyst cracked her whip, and so did the other. They both shot their whip through the air, and the ends met at a standstill.

"Hey, stop copying me!"

The reflection tried to copy her, but all that came out was a strange gurgling. Amethyst sent off another attack, and another. All were quickly met with its counter, until Amethyst finally had enough and screamed. She charged up her spin dash while water-Amethyst did the same, and they both charged at each other with supersonic speed, and met in the center with a great explosion. Both stumbled out backward, still the same even in their disorientation.

Spinel stretched her legs as high as possible and grinned down at her confused double. "Copy me if you can!"

The double scowled, and water from the tower began to pool into her, and with every new addition she got, she stretched farther and farther and farther until she matched Spinel's disproportionate proportions. The tower got ever so smaller. A literal lightbulb dinged to life above Spinel's head.

"Oh yeah? What about this?"

Spinel stretched her arms up just as high as her legs were, doubling her size, and watched as the double struggled to keep up. Then she stretched her neck, and her torso. The continued to shrink as it lost more and more of its water to Spinel's antics.

"Okay, bored of this!" Spinel wrapped her form around herself, and the double struggled to copy her movement.

Spinel didn't give it a chance. She sprung up before it could mimic her, and soared through the air toward the top of the tower.

"Hello!"

"Goodbye!"

She was met with two powerful fists of water slamming into her stomach and sending her flying back down to earth.

"Spinel!" Amethyst ran to her and crouched down beside the crater made by her impact. "Are you okay?"

Spinel sat up, her eyes spiraling and three song birds cooing and dancing above her head.

"What happened?"

She shook her head with an audible rattle, and then growled.

"She hit me!"

"Tough break, Spins." Amethyst gave her a firm pat on the back, "This guy's still copying me."

Amethyst pointed back at the double Amethyst who was doing the exact same to the double Spinel, in a crater of her own.

Garnet joined the rest of her team. "We have to think of a plan."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "I could have told you that."

A burning glare from Garnet silenced her at once.

* * *

"Lapis!" Steven wanted to run down to Spinel, to make sure she was okay, but there was no way down. "Why did you do that?!"

Lapis looked to him. "They won't let us leave."

"They… huh?"

"There's not enough water, I can't build the tower high enough. But if you heal me, I can fly us out of here. You can heal me, right?"

"Heal…?" Steven had almost forgotten about her gemstone, "You can fly?"

Lapis nodded. "All Lapis Lazuli's can! But I can't unless you heal my gem."

Lapis turned around and kneeled, so that Steven got a good view of her gem. It seemed just as bad as Amethyst's had been, but then why was Lapis acting so normal? The only thing Steven could see about her that couldn't pass as such were her eyes like mirrors.

"Whenever you're ready, Steven."

Lapis sounded pleasant; patient. Completely willing to wait for however long it took to repair her gem.

"Wait, can I ask you some questions first?"

"Hm?" Lapis looked over her shoulder.

"You said we'd fly away together, but where? And why?"

"We'd go home, Steven, to where all gems like us belong."

"But I'm not a gem, I'm human mostly."

"You have a gem."

"Yeah, but I don't know how to use it all that well." Steven lifted his shirt to get a better look at his gemstone, "I've only ever made bubbles so far with it, and healed Pearl and Connie."

"Well then heal me."

Steven considered. "I'll try."

Lapis smiled and turned back around. Steven spit into his hands.

"This might be a bit weird."

"It's okay, I'm used to weird."

Steven nodded. His heart raced just as it had when he had healed Pearl, but the cool tense of tranquility inside him didn't reflect it in the least. He reached toward her gemstone.

The blaring of a car horn made both of them jump, and the serenity surrounding Steven to fade into pure rage.

"What now?"

* * *

Greg sped up as much as he dared under Pearl's instruction. She took the wheel from his hand once they got close, and used it to steer the van right into the path of the watery attackers. They exploded on impact, covering the van with a layer of water. It pooled at their wheels, then returned to the tower from whence it came.

"What was that?!" Greg asked.

Pearl offered no answer. "Stay in the car Greg." She exited.

For a few seconds Greg listened, and then he said, "Wait, my son's out there!" And followed after her.

Pearl had already joined her team.

"... completely irresponsible to bring Greg out here." Garnet was saying.

"What would you have had me do, tie him up? He wanted to come find Steven. And- oh my stars, is he in the tower?!"

"Not the only one in the tower." Amethyst grumbled.

The water tower began to bubble.

"Greg, get back in the car..." Garnet warned. "We'll get Steven."

Greg gulped. "Works for me!" He did as he was told.

The water gargled and bubbled and shaped itself until it took the form of the same Lapis Lazuli that had taken Steven away.

"YOU!" Pearl threw her spear, but it passed right through the clone and disappeared into the water.

"What do you want?" The clone spoke.

"We want you to die!" Spinel called.

"Spinel." Garnet warned, "We just want to talk."

"You're had your chance!" The clone growled, "He's mine now!"

"I have a plan." Amethyst whispered to Pearl.

"Is it a good one?" Pearl questioned.

Amethyst shrugged, "Dunno."

Garnet hummed. "Try."

Amethyst stepped forward to the water-clone. "Hey uh, it's me. Listen, we left off on the wrong foot, and I'm just wondering if we could..."

The clone darkened and reared up until her shadow fell over Amethyst.

Amethyst gulped, but carried on. "Maybe talk? Like, at least let me say goodbye to Steven if you're taking him home!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl gasped.

Amethyst looked at her. "What? I can't say goodbye to my friend?"

Pearl went to step forward, but Garnet put out a hand to stop her.

Everything was silent for the longest time, and then the figure faded back into her tower.

"Well, so much for that idea." Amethyst grumbled.

Then, as if on cue, the water began to rupture again, and right down the center formed a staircase spiraling upward in invitation. Amethyst turned back to the group, shrugged, and then took the chance. The moment she passed through the doorway, the walls closed in behind her solid as stone.

"Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

Steven was concerned. Lapis hadn't moved in such a long time; she just sat there, staring off into the distance, with the water from her tower branching up and wrapping around her hands, bubbling ever so often. Sometimes, the bubbles would be riding up from the bottom, but other times they'd be going down. Despite everything Steven had seen, these strange reverse bubbles was the he was curious most, and so he worked to block out everything else. Nothing else mattered, except the bubbles.

Then his focused trance was broken when the bubbles came again like never before, exploding across the surface and growing more and more violent until, at last, they all formed and in their place was a spiraling staircase of solid water.

Lapis blinked. "Your friend's coming." She said calmly.

"Huh?" Steven tilted his head, "Spinel?" He craned his neck to try and spot the pink gem.

"No, the amethyst."

"Oh, Amethyst!" Somehow, that made Steven even more excited.

Lapis stared. "Yes. That's what I said."

"Is she coming to take me home?"

Lapis shook her head. "She isn't coming home with us."

"I meant my home…" Steven explained softly, "Back on the beach?"

"Oh, your prison." Lapis said it so matter-a-factly, "No, you're not going back there either. You helped me escape my prison, so I'll help you escape yours."

"What? The beach house isn't a prison!"

"Oh, don't worry Steven, it wasn't your fault they trapped you there. They're gonna pay for what they did, I promise you. As soon as you heal my gem, they'll all pay!"

"What they did? What did they do?"

Lapis lowered herself to be on Steven's level. "You don't know?"

Before Steven could open his mouth to respond, both he and lapis looked up at the sound of footsteps on the water.

"Amethyst!"

Steven sprinted over to her, wrapping his arms around the gem just a little taller than he was. Amethyst returned the hug in a much more violent manner, lifting Steven off the ground and shaking him side to side before finally setting him back down.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked; he tried to feel what Amethyst was feeling, but there was so much emotion in the air it proved impossible. "I saw what my mirror friend did."

"Oh, you mean Lapis?"

"Good! You know her name! Did she…" Steven fiddled with his hands, "Hurt you?"

"Eh, I've been hurt worse." Amethyst said, and she ran her hand down the length of her neck.

Steven felt his heart fall. "She did? She hurt you?"

"Nothing I can't handle; gemstone's fine, trust me."

Steven crossed his arms. "Show me please."

Amethyst rolled her eyes and she pulled down her shirt just barely to give Steven a brief glimpse of her gemstone.

"There! Happy?"

Steven grinned ear to ear and threw his arms around Amethyst.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, shorty." Amethyst shoved him away gentle, "But enough with the hugs already!"

"Sorry, I'm just so happy to see you!" Steven took her by the hand and lead her over to Lapis, "Lapis, this is Amethyst! You met her already, but not in person!"

"Actually, I did." Lapis said.

"Oh?" Steven looked between them.

Amethyst scoffed and waved her hand. "Yeah, it was this whole inspirational speech! Like, a whole eleven words!"

Lapis got closer to her. "I'm surprised you remember exactly how many."

"Well, I got a pretty good memory."

Lapis inclined her head. "That's good. Are you good?"

"Mm, good? No. Will I attack you? Also no."

Lapis gave a snort of laughter. "Funny."

"Thanks, I pride myself on it." Amethyst winked.

Lapis was confused again. "What was that thing? That thing you did with your eye?"

"Oh, it's called a wink! It's like, something you do with a joke or when you telling a secret or trying to be flirty and stuff."

"What did that wink mean?"

"Depends on what you think it meant."

Lapis thought. "Joke?"

"Maybe."

"I knew it."

Amethyst looked beyond Lapis. "Ey, you got them lil' spiky dudes to be like, not spiky!"

Lapis looked over her shoulder. "Oh, you mean the crystal shrimp? Yes, they like me quite a lot."

"Who wouldn't?" Amethyst asked, "I mean, what's not to like."

Lapis's face fell. "There's no charming your way out of this."

"Out of what?" Amethyst asked quickly, "I'm not trying to charm my way out of anything, I'm just charming!"

"You can't stop me." Lapis approached Amethyst with malicious intent in her eyes. "I'm taking Steven home."

"Well, Steven's home is uh, thataway." Amethyst pointed north, "thataway." Amethyst pointed up to the stars.

"Steven's home is with me."

"Mmmm, I dunno." Amethyst turned her back on the lapis, "I think that home is where someone is happiest so shouldn't Steven's home be where he's most happiest?"

Lapis's growing storm fell silent. "That makes sense."

"I know." Amethyst said, "So, why don't you ask him where he wants to go, eh?"

"I suppose." Lapis turned to Steven, "Steven, where are you most happiest?"

Steven didn't have to think. "Back at home at the beach house, when my dad and Connie and my other friends are over and the gems are there too."

Lapis frowned, and growing sadness radiated around her, but she kept going, "Would you be happy out there in the stars with me?"

Steven didn't want to answer, but it seemed his silence was answer enough. Lapis closed her eyes.

"Leave us."

With a flick of her wrist, Amethyst was sent flying back to the staircase, and the moment her feet touched the first step it turned into a wild water rapid and sucked her down.

"Amethyst!"

Steven tried to run to her, but chains of water strapped around his wrists and held him in place.

"Lapis?" Steven struggled against the binds, "What are you doing?!"

The chains pulled Steven along hard enough to drag him off his feet and force him to Lapis's side.

"Heal me, Steven." Lapis turned her back to him.

One of the chains exploded into water and Steven slumped to the side, almost falling before the second chain tightened around his other wrist and kept him upright.

"O… okay."

Steven spit on his hand, and pressed the hand to the crack in Lapis's gem. Immediately it was healing. There was a fracture, and then there wasn't. Only pure, smoothly cut gemstone. Lapis looked over her shoulder.

"Did it work?"

"Uh, yeah. It… it worked…"

Steven knew he didn't sound happy about it, but he didn't care. He felt the chain on his wrist slacken and fall apart as Lapis stood and reached her hand back to investigate her gemstone.

"Thank you." She sounded truly grateful, and her voice was the haunted voice of someone who wanted to cry.

"No prob, Bob."

She turned to face Steven, her mirrored eyes now a deep shade of navy blue. "It's Lapis."

"I know.. Its um… an expression? Never mind."

Lapis seemed to forget about it at once. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and from behind her formed something truly extraordinary. Wings, shining and beautiful and exquisite, made of pure water that shined like the moon itself.

"Woah! Are those your wings!"

"Yes." Lapis smiled and blushed. "Oh, it feels so good to be hold again."

The wings gave a single, powerful flutter and her feet lifted off the ground. She laughed, and then she laughed some more. She flew up high and did a pirouette in the sky, and the she flipped and soared and dove. She was laughing, and so Steven started laughing and trying to copy her moves in the sky.

Lapis froze suddenly and looked to the moon. Steven stopped all the same, and his brief euphoria faded.

The moon seemed to blink, and then she appeared again; Steven recognized the pallid blue face, baby blue dress and long, dark hair. Her wings of pure light, like Lapis', except far more grand and elegant and seeming to encase the entire night sky in her limelight.

A whisper echoed through the air.

"Yes." Lapis whispered as she murmurs surrounded her, "I understand."

"Lapis, is she talking to you?"

Lapis didn't respond, and then it was Steven's turn to hear that whisper in his ear.

_No one knows what makes you shine._

Before Steven could consider what Lapis meant by those words, the solid water beneath his feet gave way and he fell through as the tower began to fall.

* * *

"STEVEN!" A cacophony of shouts rang out through the night.

Garnet ran over to Greg's van, ripping the door off its hinges and grabbing Greg as the water came crashing down on them and washed them away.

* * *

Steven was falling. Through the water and through the sky and toward the ground, and if he hit it there would be nothing to soften his fall. No water, no gems to catch him. Through the stinging of his eyes he could see the downpour sweep away his friends and family, but he lacked the breath to scream. He had to catch himself, there had to be something, anything. Please! Please!

Please!

Steven closed his eyes for an impact that never came.

* * *

The gems and Greg returned back to that spot the moment they got the chance. Amethyst turned into a functioning motor boat and was easily able to steer them back in the right direction to the spire. There had been so much water, so much chaos, no one had gotten a glimpse of what happened to Steven. He had to be there, they all agreed. At least, they had to try.

"Greg, I'm so sorry." Pearl was saying, "I'm so, so sorry! I can help you get a new van-"

"I don't care about the van!" Greg interrupted, "I'm worried about my son!"

"Do you think she took him?" Pearl appealed to Garnet.

Garnet barely reacted. "He wouldn't make it past the atmosphere; the lapis lazuli would see that."

"I just hope we're not too late." Pearl held her hands to her mouth, "I told you! We live by the ocean, so Steven should have his floaties with him all the time!"

"He'll be fine!" Amethyst said over the sound of her own motor, "He has to be! Right?"

"I couldn't get to him." Spinel said softly, her voice dull and dark, "I couldn't help him…"

"None of us could." Garnet said.

"None of you could, but I should have been able to! I'm stronger than all of you!"

"Spinel, calm down." Pearl tried.

"No! I'm supposed to protect him! I couldn't stop her from taking him!" Spinel fell to her knees, "I… I failed."

Her pigtails fell apart and her hair fell ragged across her shoulders. No one could think of anything to say until Amethyst suddenly piped up with,

"FSO!"

"Huh?"

"FSO! Flying Steven Object!"

Everyone looked up.

From the light of the moon, against the starlit sky, was a small figure drifting ever-so-slowly to the ground, as if gravity had ceased to work.

"STEVEN!"

Spinel stretched up into the sky, taking Steven into her arms and bringing him back down into the makeshift boat. Steven was shivering and soaked, clinging to Spinel's body as if his life depended on it.

"Ya know, I'm really starting to hate the water."

Garnet held out her arms, but Spinel hesitated a second before handing over her precious Steven. Steven sighed as he leaned into Garnet's warmth. Pearl and Greg began to dote over him, brushing his hair in their hands, stroking his face, holding his hands. Steven flinched away from the affection.

"He's exhausted." Garnet said. "It's okay, Steven. You can sleep."

Steven whined, and said nothing more. Immediately, everyone began to talk in a whisper.

"When did Steven learn to do that?" Greg asked.

"Just now I supposed." Garnet said.

"Rose could regulate the speed of her descent." Pearl added.

"Yeah, and she could control how fast she fell." Amethyst offered.

Pearl huffed, "That's what I said!"

"Hush." Garnet warned.

"Sorry, Garnet." Pearl was immediately quieter. "You think he's okay?"

"He's just tired and cold." Garnet said, "We need to get him back home. Amethyst."

"On it." Amethyst turned herself around and began to take them in the direction toward home.

"At least the ocean's back..." Pearl offered.

"I'm just glad we got Steven back." Spinel said; she had taken the chance to brush Steven's curls out of his face.

"Same here." Greg said, "I can get a new van, but I can't get a new son."

"Mmm." Amethyst hummed, "Technially you can."

"Amethyst, not now."

That was all it took for Amethyst to go silent again.

"What's the plan, Garnet?" Pearl prompted.

Garnet took a deep inhale. "We take him home and get him into bed. When he wakes up, we'll have a talk him with. And Greg."

"Yes?" Greg responded.

"You can stay with us until we can find you somewhere else to stay."

"Thank you Garnet. That makes me feel a lot better."

"And it will make Steven feel a lot better to have his father around. He might not understand what just happened. We need to make sure he does. When he wakes up."

* * *

Steven could never remember being so tired. His body felt stiff, like he had slept for a week, but his mind was so clouded like he hadn't slept in days. The only comfort he found solace in was the warmth and weight of the blanket on his body, and on the soft cushion under him. He was home, back in bed, and he wasn't alone. First he saw Garnet, and even sitting she towered high above the rest. Then he saw Greg, and then Pearl, and then Spinel, all gathered around his bed. He looked around.

"Steven." Pearl said, taking his hand in hers, "I'm so glad your awake!"

Steven strained to look even further. "Where's Amethyst?" The true question he wanted to ask was 'where's Lapis?'

Pearl huffed. "Amethyst ran off into her room the moment we got here, said there was something _'important'_ she had to do. Apparently, not so important she had to actually _tell_ us. I mean, what could be more important than Steven's wellbeing?!"

"Pearl." Garnet said, and Pearl was silent. Garnet turned back to Steven. "Steven. We have some questions to ask you."

Steven knew that was coming, but it didn't make it any less intimidating. Steven say up. "Okay."

"Steven..." Pearl began softly, "Do you... know what happened to you?"

Steven nodded.

"Can you tell us?"

"I... let Lapis out of the mirror and she took me to the Sea Spire."

"Do you know what she was going to do with you Steven?"

"She said she was taking me... home. And that home was in the stars. That's not true, is it Pearl? I don't live in space, I live here on earth."

"Of course you do Steven."

"Then, why was she trying to take me with her?"

Silence followed for a while.

"Steven," Pearl said, "Sometimes when people have very few friends they can become... _possessive_ of the few they do have."

"That's what happened with Lapis?"

"Yes, Steven." Pearl lowered her head. "Feeling close to someone is _amazing_," Pearl looked away, "but not so much if they don't feel that way too. She was trying to make you feel that way. The way she felt about _you_. She was going to take you with her."

"With her where?"

"Home." Spinel said, "To the stars; that's where we all came us. Me, Pearl, Garnet. Your mother."

Steven blinked away tears. "And Amethyst?"

"No, sweetness," Spinel cooed, "Amethyst was... _born_... here just like you."

Steven narrowed his eyes. "You hesitated."

"We'll, gems aren't really born. It's a... different process. But we'll talk about that later. All you need to know is that what Lapis tried to do to you wasn't okay. No one should ever try to steal you away from your family, no matter how much they say they love you. No matter how much they want to be your friend."

"That makes sense..." Steven concluded.

"Do you have any questions, Steven?" Pearl asked.

Steven shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Okay, Steven."

Garnet looked to Spinel, looked to Pearl, then looked to Greg. All three of them left her alone with Steven.

"Steven." Garnet said quietly, "Explain the reason you went with Lapis."

"She took me." Steven said.

"You know what I meant, Steven. Pearl and Spinel told me you fainted in the burning room, and you were muttering like a madman, yet when you woke you claimed you couldn't remember. Amethyst told me you fainted when you were confronted with the true power of the Lapis Lazuli, and that's how she took you."

"I... though I was just tired, or thirsty."

"I don't think you did, Steven." Garnet said matter-a-factly, "Tell me what you really felt like."

Steven sighed. "It's like... I got really, _really_ angry, but I wasn't angry. I didn't have any reason to be angry, but I was so hot like I was on fire, and it drowned out all the noises and everything went black. I felt kinda like that before, but nothing like I felt then."

"That's when you were confronted with the lazuli."

"Yes. Lapis made me feel that way when I let her out, and it hurt. I didn't want to feel that way."

Garnet didn't react. "Tell me about the instance in the Burning Room."

"That's... really hard to explain. It was like I was everything at once. I was angry and happy and sad and scared. I felt really hot like I was on fire, but like it was a cold fire? And I was really cold? And all these thoughts exploded in my head but not one of them was mine."

Steven felt heat rise inside him and spill out in the form of tears.

"I was like I was fighting and being ripped apart. It hurt Garnet, it really _hurt_..."

"Shh."

Garnet pulled Steven tight against her, but Steven didn't have the energy to do anything but cry.

"I don't know why I feel like I do sometimes. It's like it's not my own emotion, but it takes over me. Is something wrong with me?"

"Steven, nothing is wrong with you."

"Then why do I feel that way?"

"Steven." Garnet moved away, "Your mother had the ability to regulate her descent and fall slowly, and under the moonlight you showed that same ability, just as you had done with your bubble."

"I... I _flew_?"

"Not flew, Steven. Regulated your descent. You fell, but slow."

"Oh." Steven wiped his face, "But what does that have to do with what's happening to me?"

"Steven, your mother was also what is known as an empath."

"What's an empath?"

"An empath is someone who feels the emotions of others as if it were their own. Your mother felt the sorrow and the pain of others like it was her own suffering, and she used to reflect that in her own emotions, until she learned to control it. Until she learned to turn that pain and sorrow into healing and joy. She could tell how a gem was feeling, truly feeling, even if that gem were too stubborn to admit it. She could help them that way, and so could you."

"So... you're saying...?"

"You have Rose's power. The emotions of others are aplified and focused inside of you, just as they were in your mother. None of this is your fault."

"So I'm not broken?"

Garnet laughed. "Steven, you're a whole as can be."


	22. Watermelon Getaway

Steven woke up to three sets of eyes on him.

"Um. Hi?"

"Hello!" Spinel cheered.

"Good morning, Steven!" Pearl beamed.

"You slept well." Garnet observed.

"Um. I guess." He wiped his eyes. "Did you... watch me all night?"

"Um. Yeah!" Spinel answered.

"From dusk until dawn!" Pearl added.

"We had to make sure you were safe Steven."

"While I was sleeping...?"

"Yes." Garnet said.

"Thank... you." Steven slowly got out of bed, "I'm gonna go get some breakfast then."

Steven made his way down the stairs. His father was already at the table eating more than a fair portion of cereal. Garnet had retrieved what she could of his van from the bottom of the sea, but it was completely totaled. Steven couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness, though Greg looked happier than ever.

"Hey stewball." Greg said once he had swallowed, "Try some of the rainbow stuff, it's delicious!"

The milk and cereal were already laid out, so all Steven had to do was grab a bowl and spoon before sitting down next to his dad. "It's Amethyst's cereal. I'm pretty sure she stole it."

"Huh." Greg looked down at the rainbow balls, then took another big mouthful, "She should steal more often."

"Greg." Spinel huffed, "That's not a good example for Steven!"

Steven looked around. "Where _is_ Amethyst?"

Pearl scowled and crossed her arms. "That lazy Amethyst couldn't even stay up _one_ night with us to watch you! She kept talking about how you needed your space! You don't need space, you need protecting!"

Pearl leaned down and hugged him.

"Pearl." Steven flinched away from Pearl's embrace, "I'm eating my breakfast."

"Of course, Steven!" Pearl stood back slightly, "Eat your breakfast, I'm not stopping you!"

Steven scooped up a spoonful, but it was hard to concentrate on eating with Pearl's wide, baby-blue eyes staring just inches away.

"Um. Can I help you with something?"

"No, just watching." Pearl said.

"Could you watch from a little farther away?"

Pearl stepped a few feet away.

"Thank you." It was better, but not enough to make Steven comfortable. He ate as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast since he kept checking and kept seeing Pearl staring at him.

"All done." He announced to all the eyes watching him.

"I'll clean it!" Pearl offered.

"No, I can do it myself." Steven said. When he stood up and turned around, he nearly ran into Spinel.

"Want me to do it?" Spinel offered.

"_Spinel_." Steven walked around her, "I can wash my own dish."

The gems kept their eyes on him as he did just that. Greg came up beside him to start washing his own dish.

"Geeze, Steven, they're watching you like a hawk." He commented.

Steven sighed. "Yeah."

* * *

The gems watched Steven closely for all the days that followed. They followed him outside when he went to give Lion a treat, and they followed him back inside after. They sat with him watching cartoons (Amethyst had finally decided to return the TV) and Pearl plagued him with questions. They stood outside the bathroom while he took a shower, watched him while he slept, coddled him to the point of making all his meals and tending to his every need until he couldn't take it anymore and decided he needed to get some fresh air. They attempted to follow him again, until Steven finally spoke out.

"I'm just gonna go to the Big Donut, okay? I'll be back soon."

"We'll come with you!" Pearl said.

"No!" Steven said a little louder than he intended, "I mean, I just wanna catch up with Lars and Sadie for a bit, okay?"

"I thought Lars wasn't working the Big Donut anymore?" Pearl asked.

"It's his Christmas break." Steven explained, "So can I go catch up with him? Please?"

"Okay, Steven." Pearl didn't sound happy about it.

"We'll see you when you get back." Spinel said.

"Be safe!" Garnet added.

"I will." Steven said, "It's just the Big Donut."

"We'll wait here for you." Garnet said.

"You don't have to do that."

"We want to do it!" Pearl exclaimed.

Spinel nodded her agreement.

"Right." Steven tried to sound positive, but he was anything but, "Well, I'll see you later."

As he left across the beach, the gems continued to shout their praise.

"See you soon, Steven!"

"We'll be waiting!"

"I miss you already!"

"I'll do your laundry while your out!"

"We'll be here if you need anything."

All the praise and the positive words had the exact opposite affect on Steven.

* * *

Sadie placed the donut in front of him. "Hey Steven." She said softly, "You've been in here a while. You okay?"

Steven didn't know how to answer. He had caused so many trouble, and it hadn't been for anything. Lapis was free, sure, but she was gone. She hadn't stayed with him like he thought she would, and join the household and get her own room in the temple.

"Yeah, I guess." Steven said, "I just... don't want to see the gems right now." He took a slow, glum bite of his donut but all he could taste was his own despair.

Sadie sat down opposite of him, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. "Did something happen?"

Steven sighed, and he leaned back in his chair. He was starting to get a headache.

"It's just that my friend was trapped in a mirror prison and I let her out, and her name was Lapis Lazuli. She was a gem from outer space land, like the Crystal Gems, well, except for Amethyst. Anyway, she kidnapped me and stole the ocean, and tried to take me away with her into outer space. Then she threw me off her tower, and I learned how to fly. Kinda. I mean, Garnet said it was more like falling very slowly. Now I think the gems are mad at me and my dad's homeless."

"Dude." Lars said from the counter, "What even is your family?"

"Refugees from outer space." Steven answered proudly, "They don't really tell me much other than that."

"Well uh..." Sadie rapped her fingers, "That's just... God awful Steven. Is there anything I can do?"

Steven thought, and then he looked down at his empty paper.

"Another donut please."

"Are you sure? It's your third one. I don't want you to get sick."

"I'm just hungry." Steven said, "Can you get me a jelly one?"

Sadie offered a tired smile. "Of course." She rose from her seat, "Anything for my favorite customer."

Steven forced a smile. "Thank you Sadie!" As she retrieved his donut, he continued to fill the silent void with his voice, "I just wish I could take a break and wait for everything to calm down. Ya know, like a vacation or something?"

Sadie returned with the third donut. "A vacation sounds lovely! I wish I could afford one."

Steven frowned. "Don't you have lots of money from working all the time?"

"Not really." Sadie sat back down, "Mind if I unload on you a bit? It would be nice to talk to someone about this. Ya know, someone who actually listens." Sadie looked over to Lars, far too absorbed in his donut to care about anything else; Steven wasn't even sure he paid for it.

Steven put his hands behind his ears and pushed them forward. "I'm all ears!"

Sadie laughed softly. "Even though I work all the time, I barely have enough to scrape by. My mom's nice enough to let me stay in her basement as long as I buy my own food and pay part of the bills. Every scrap I have left over at the end of the month I put into a savings account. I really want to rent a house, just to get my mom out of my hair, but I can't afford anything right now. If I save enough, I think I might be able to afford one in like, three years maybe."

"That's a long time from now."

"Yup." Sadie sounded defeated, "I work every second of every day, and get barely anything for it. It would be wonderful to get away."

"Yeah, I hear you Sade." Lars added, "My parents have been on my case all week about me getting my grades up."

Sadie looked to him. "Well, it is your senior year. Don't you think you should go out on a good note?"

Lars scoffed. "I guess. But who are they to tell me what to do?!"

"Uh. Your parents. You do live in their house and eat their food."

"Well, duh!" Lars leaned forward, "I'm their kid! They gotta support me or whatever. It's the law."

Sadie shook her head slowly. "You shouldn't treat them like that, Lars. They're your parents."

Lars crossed his arms. "I'll treat them like they treat me."

"You mean with love and affection?"

"Sadie, you don't get to-"

"WARP PAD!"

Lars' and Sadie's argument ended abruptly at Steven's outburst.

"The warp pad in my house!" Steven went on, "It can take you wherever you want to go! It can take us to an island!"

"An island?" Sadie's voice dripped with disbelief, "How does that work?"

Steven had to think for a minute on how to explain. "It turns your body into light and teleports you based on where you want to go."

"Sounds painful." Lars commented.

Steven shook his head. "No, it tickles a bit but it's totally safe! The gems take me on it all the time when we go on missions!"

Sadie whistled. "You really think it could take us to an exotic island?"

"Yeah!"

Lars looked between Sadie and Steven as if they were both crazy.

"You seriously believe that's even possible?"

Sadie's expression turned to stone. "Lars, a blue space goddess stole the ocean, I don't think teleportation is out of the question."

Lars shrugged. "Fair enough. When do we leave?"

"Later tonight!" Steven said, "The gems would never let me go, let alone take you guys." Guilt began to seep into Steven, "So we'd have to be really sneaky and quiet, okay?"

"Okay," Sadie said, "Sounds good to me."

"I'm in too." Lars said.

"You might want to pack a bag," Steven added, "Food can be hard to come by on a deserted island."

Sadie chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"This is gonna be great!" Steven exclaimed, "I've always wanted to go on vacation!"

"Hey uh, Steven, I think your folks are waiting for you."

Steven looked to the window. Sure enough, Garnet, Pearl, and Spinel were there at the window, their faces pressed against the glass as they stared inside. Steven turned back to Sadie and Lars.

"I'll see you tonight."

"See you then." Sadie said, and then she left Steven to return to the counter.

Steven went outside.

"Steven!" Pearl cheered, "You're back!"

"We know you said you were fine," Garnet said, "But we just wanted to check on you."

Spinel pulled Steven close into a hug. "Are you done catching up with Lars and Sadie?"

Steven sighed. "I guess I am."

Spinel's smile faded. "Why so sad?"

"I'm not sad." Steven defended, "I'm just, not feeling the best."

Pearl gasped. "Oh no! How could I have not see this coming!" She snatched Steven away from Spinel.

"Hey!" Spinel shouted.

"You were out there for so long freezing and wet, you must've caught a cold!"

"Pearl, you get a cold from an airborne virus, not by being cold." Spinel snatched Steven back.

"Well, that doesn't mean he still can't be sick!" Pearl argued, attempting to take Steven again, "We need to get him home and warm with some chicken noodle soup!"

"We don't have any!" Spinel argued, pulling Steven in the opposite direction.

"Well then we can just go buy some!"

"Can't; all outta money."

"We shouldn't be?" Pearl stopped tugging on Steven, and Spinel was quickly able to take the teen for herself. Pearl scowled. "Greg just gave us money last week; it was supposed to last us all month!"

"Well it's gone!" Spinel snapped.

"That's just unheard of!"

Steven could feel a wave of worry shooting off from Pearl like electric strikes.

"How are we gonna feed Steven?"

"We'll find a way." Garnet said simply, "Or we'll make a way."

"Wait, then, Steven, how were you buying donuts?" Pearl asked.

"Sadie gave them to me for free." Steven explained, "She does that sometimes."

"We shouldn't discuss this here." Garnet said calmly, and she was easily able to take Steven from Spinel, "Come; let's go back home and we'll discuss this with Greg when he returns."

* * *

When Steven and the gems came to the house, it was just in time to see Amethyst with her head stuck in the fridge, taking her time and swaying her hips. She picked up something from inside the fridge and dropped it into the grocery bag hanging from her arm, and then reached to grab something else.

"_What are you doing_?!"

Amethyst startled at Pearl's shriek and banged her head on the shelf inside the fridge in her haste to escape. "Geeze! Don't do that Pearl!" She rubbed her head.

"Are you stealing food?!" Pearl demanded.

"What? _No_!"

Amethyst was lying.

"I'm stocking the fridge, man!"

"If you're stocking the fridge, why are you putting stuff _in_ the bag?" Spinel pointed out.

Amethyst blinked. "Alright, you caught me." She closed the fridge door with her butt. "I'm just getting a midday snack. Don't worry, it's spoiled."

"If it's spoiled, why is it in the fridge?" Pearl growled through gritted teeth.

"I dunno, you tell me Pearl." Amethyst smirked, "You're supposed to be the cleaning lady."

"It's not spoiled! Nothing ever spoils here!" Pearl argued.

"Yeah. 'cept you. You're _way _past your 'best by' date."

Pearl gasped. "You can't do that!" Pearl appealed to the leader, "Garnet!"

Garnet raised a hand. "Amethyst, give me the bag."

"What?" Amethyst held the bag protectively against her chest, "No! Get your own!"

Garnet advanced on Amethyst, but Steven was faster to block her. "Garnet, no! I don't mind!"

"That food is meant to feed Steven." Garnet said.

"It's fine!" Steven said, "I have donuts and fry bits!"

"You need actual food." Garnet replied, "Something filling, which you can't have if Amethyst keeps pillaging the fridge every chance she gets."

"She like's to eat too!" Steven defended.

"She _likes_ to eat, but she doesn't _need_ to eat. You do."

"Amethyst, it's okay." Steven turned to look at her, "Just go."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Amethyst was off in a flash, disappearing into the temple and slamming the door shut behind her.

"Amethyst!" Pearl ran to the temple door too, and banged her fist on it. "I'm gonna come down the waterfall after you if you don't get back out here with Steven's food!"

"At least we know where the money's been going." Spinel offered.

Pearl growled. "When I get my hands on that Amethyst!"

"You're aren't going to do anything." Garnet finished.

"What? But she, _she_!"

"Leave her be. She has to come out sometime, and we'll talk to her then. I don't want to have to search for you when you inevitably get lost in her maze like you did last time."

Pearl blushed, and looked away. "I did nothing of the sort."

"Of course not." Garnet clearly didn't believe her, "As I said, we'll discuss this matter further once Greg arrives. Until then, let's just make sure Amethyst doesn't come back for more."

* * *

Steven didn't expect the gems to leave him alone after that, and they didn't. They followed him around for the rest of that day, and he only got a moment to himself when his dad finally returned to the house and talked in a hushed nature with the gems for about ten minutes. Then they were back to his side for the rest of the day, until it was time for him to go to bed.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay with you?" Pearl questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Steven said, "Really just..." He feigned a yawn, "Really tired. I'm sure you have much better things to do!"

"You're way more important than missions, Steven!" Pearl exclaimed proudly.

"I'll be fine here! Dad's here!" Steven looked back at Greg, and Greg waved at them. "I'll be fine, you guys go!"

"Well, we do have that heliotrope that's been terrorizing the Kyanite Canyon." Garnet said, "I figure it's about time we round her up.

"Good!" Relief cooled Steven's nervous heat, "Go do that!"

"Should I get Amethyst?" Spinel asked.

Garnet shook her head. "We don't need Amethyst for this mission anyway."

"Okay, if you say so."

The three gems stepped onto the warp pad.

"Steven." Garnet said coolly, "You're going to have a good night."

"Um. Thank you?"

Garnet nodded. "Yes. Let's go." She warped away without another word.

"I don't know about you Stew-ball." Greg yawned and stretched out his arms, "But I'm beat! I think I'm gonna hit the hay."

"Yeah." Steven said, "Me too."

Though Steven climbed into bed and turned off his lights, sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had to stay awake, he knew, to wait for Lars and Sadie to show up. He had gotten the gems to finally leave him alone to sleep, his dad was already snoring, and Amethyst was locked up in her room. The timing was perfect.

He laid awake for hours, constantly moving so he wouldn't fall asleep, checking the clock as the minutes wore on into the night. Once he was left alone with nothing but his thoughts to occupy him, they began to run wild. What if the gems came back before Lars and Sadie came? Or worse, when Lars and Sadie came? What if they were able to track Steven, when they came back to find him not in his bed? What if his dad woke up and caught them in the act? Sure, he could keep a secret from Pearl and maybe Spinel, but Garnet? No one could keep a secret from Garnet.

Steven sat up in bed and strained his ears to listen. He heard the steady breathing of his dad, the howling of the wind outside. The crashing waves. All the nighttime noises that would usually lure him to sleep helped him to stay awake. It was nearly midnight when he heard the slightest rapping that turned his attention to the door. Sadie and Lars were outlined in the moonlight, staring up at his loft. Sadie waved, and Steven waved back. His heart began to race and, as quiet as he could manage, he tiptoed down the staircase. He knew by experience which boards would creak and which ones could hold his weight without a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, he was finally able to creep silently to the door. He opened the door, slid out into the night, and closed the door quietly behind him.

"Hey Steven." Sadie said in a hushed whisper, "I hope we're not too early. You didn't exactly say a time."

"Right now's _perfect_!" Steven said, then covered his mouth, "I mean, right now's perfect." He repeated quieter.

"Great." Sadie said, "I brought some food; I hope it's enough." She held out her bag to show it overflowing with supplies.

"Awesome." Steven whispered, "My dad's sleeping inside, but he's a pretty heavy sleeper, so we should be fine."

"Are you sure this is okay?" Sadie asked, "I mean, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

Steven looked away. "I know... but we can't go back now! You're already here!" He opened the door and invited them in.

"Sure..." Lars muttered, "Two adults showing up at a teenage boy's house in the middle of the night while his guardians are asleep. Nothing seriously perverse about that."

Sadie elbowed him the stomach. "Come on, it's for Steven."

Lars grumbled, but followed Sadie inside the house. Steven was the last to enter, but he quickly took the lead in guiding them past the sleeping Greg and to the warp pad.

"That's it?" Sadie asked.

Steven nodded and stepped onto the warp pad. Lars and Sadie took the hint and stepped up beside him. Steven grabbed a hold of both their arms, though Lars flinched away from the touch and tried to pull away.

"I need to hold onto you so you don't drift out of the warp." Steven explained.

Lars stared. "So I don't _what_?"

"Drift out of the warp." Steven repeated, "The gems always have to hold onto me so I don't fly out, so I gotta hold onto you."

"You've done this before, right?" Sadie asked.

Steven shook his head. "Actually, no."

"WHAT?!"

Steven quickly shushed Lars. "Lars, not so loud!"

"You're never done this before?!"

"Warping now!"

Steven closed his eyes and thought of an island. Warm, surrounded by water, covered in trees. The perfect place to stay a day or two, where the gems would never think to look. A place with no humans. He could feel his body fade and turn to light, and the sensation of holding Sadie and Lars faded to the back of his mind. He had to focus everything he had on keeping them close as they warped through the stream of pure light. The tingling feeling rose in his stomach, his head felt miles away, and his body felt as if it were spread all throughout the known universe.

Then there was cold metal under his feet, and hands in his. The call of birds of the day, not of the night, and the whistle of a warm wind through his hair. He opened his eyes to a beautiful sight.

The air smelled humid and salty, and the sky above him was a clear crystal blue without a cloud to be seen. It was _day_. All around him were rocky outcrops and trees of all kinds that stretched into a canopy and casted shade over the vibrant grass below. Steven spotted a few birds flying overhead, and even more roosting in the trees above watching the new arrivals curiously. Steven almost jumped at the exclaims of wonder that came from Lars and Sadie as they took in the sight as well.

"It worked!" Steven cheered.

" Lars said, "What? No! How? What?!"

"Oh my God, Steven, you weren't kidding!" Sadie hopped off the warp pad and investigate a nearby leaf, almost as big as she was. "Look at these leaves!"

"Who care's about the leaves?" Lars asked as he ventured in the opposite direction and pushed some of the shrubbery aside, "Look at this view!"

Sadie and Steven both ran to check it out, and both were left in awe. The earth dropped down into a deep, rocky canyon beyond where the last trees grew, and at the bottom Steven could see waves crashing against the pointed rocks in a violent, somehow mesmerizing movement.

"This is _spectacular_!" Sadie pulled out her phone and took a picture of the view.

"Wait, we were allowed to bring our phones?" Lars asked.

Sadie shrugged. "I figured we should get some pictures, right?"

Lars leaned over Sadie's shoulders to look at the snap shot. "Send those to me when we get service."

"Will do." Sadie said.

"Come on!" Steven waved Sadie and Lars over, "Let's go explore!"

Sadie and Lars looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, when on an exotic island." Lars joked.

"Lead the way, Steven."

Steven did just that. He found the path with the least resistance, the fewest low-hanging leaves and high-reaching overgrowth. He could almost believe it was an actual path, carved out by people that had come before him. Sadie had the same thought.

"You sure this is unpopulated?" Sadie asked, "This path seems _human,_ almost."

"Yeah..." Steven paused, "I was thinking that too."

Lars pushed past them and pressed on. "Who cares?"

"I'm sure they'll care if we're intruding on their land." Sadie pointed out, "Or they might not mind as much since they could _eat_ _us_."

That stopped Lars in his tracks. He backtracked, passed Steven and Sadie once more, and cowered behind the latter.

"On second thought, you guys can lead the way."

"It's gonna be okay." Steven said, "I mean, the people might be gone now, and even if they aren't, I can always bubble us if they try to attack. But we should probably make a note of where the warp pad is."

Sadie gave a curt nod and from her bag she pulled out a small knife, using it to cut a notch in a nearby tree. She worked the bark off of the foundation, until a surprisingly detailed S was engraved into it.

"There. Now we just gotta mark every tree along... the way." Her arms fell limp and her face fell as she looked out at the great expanse of trees spreading out into a seemingly endless horizon, "Or um. Maybe every other tree."

Steven smiled. "I can tell this is gonna be an amazing trip."

They continued to walk the path for what seemed like an eternity, and Steven began to regret his decision. He had no idea how he was going to explain getting sunburn when he was supposed to be sleeping, and the air was only getting more humid as the hour wore on. Just as he was about to suggest going back, the trees seemed to thin and he gave it a chance to see what would happen next. They passed fewer and fewer trees, and the high foliage began to dwindle until nothing but dirt remained. Dry, overturned dirt.

Sadie kneeled down in the dirt and pulled up a clump of it, investigating the grass that clung to the bottom of it.

"What is it, Sadie?" Steven asked.

Sadie huffed. "It looks like something's been digging here."

"Like a mole?" Steven offered.

Sadie shook her head softly as she continued to turn the dirt back upright, and her gaze only darkened when she continued to discover more and more that needed fixing, "That's some mole, Steven. I think we should go."

"Okay!" Steven continued to walk, but quickly felt his excited mood darkened by the mood of another. "Sadie?"

"Steven, I meant we should go back." Sadie said, and her voice quivered the emotion that surrounded Steven, "I'm getting a bad feeling."

"I can tell." Steven said.

Lars gulped, and pulled his body closer to Sadie's, holding onto her shoulders like his life depended on it. Sadie flushed red, and gave an awkward laugh at the touch.

"Anyone else feel like we're being watched?"

Steven looked around. "I don't."

"Come on." Sadie said through her laughter, "Let's go back."

Lars and Sadie turned around (Though Sadie quickly took the lead) and Steven had no choice but to follow them; he didn't want to be left alone.

They didn't get far before Lars' fear came true. Standing in the path before them was a small, green and yellow creature that Steven recognized all too well. Dark, seed eyes and a jaggedly cut mouth that jutted up into a smile. A crown of white and green feathers rested on the bumps that could be mistaken for hair, and around his waist a skirt made of dried grass. On its stomach was a golden painted star, bold against the rest of its pale colors. In it's rounded hand it held a spear, sharpened to a point.

"Steven, what is that?!" Lars cried, "Why does it look like you?!"

"Watermelon Steven!" Steven gasped.

"What the fuck is a watermelon Steven!?"

"Whatever it is," Sadie interrupted, "Let's go this way!"

Sadie made an attempt to shove the younger boys in the opposite direction, but they were quickly cut off as more the identical Steven's stepped out into the open and pointed their spears in the groups direction.

"Now being watched, huh?" Lars snapped at Steven.

Steven whimpered. "I didn't think anyone was here, let alone them!"

"What even are they?"

"I made them with magic spit." Steven explained quickly.

Two dozen more came out of hiding to surround them. They all made attempts to stab at the three, and when the group would flinch away from their jabbing spears, they were pushed back against other spears with the same intention.

"I told them to leave me alone like, four months ago!"

"I uh, don't think they appreciated it, Steven." Sadie said.

One of the watermelons broke formation, though without lowering its spear, and made gargled sounds of incomprehensible noises. Steven stared at his creation, trying to make sense of what it was trying to say, and why it was looking at him.

"I think they want us to go with them..." Steven guessed.

"How do you know?" Lars asked.

"I don't." Steven said, "But let's just try it."

Sadie took a deep breath. "I trust you Steven. Lars, if Steven says to go with them, we should do it."

"Why would you start trusting him now?!"

"Well, he made them! And we got no better ideas."

"Follow my lead," Steven whispered to them, and then said louder to the lead watermelon, "Okay, we'll go with you, we'll go with you!"

The watermelon's mouth pulled up into a grin, and again said something in its strange way. Turning to the rest of its army, the sounds the leader made changed. Instead of the gruff, rough words it tried to say to Steven, the sound that same out of its mouth was a whistle. A twitter and squawk type of sound that the rest of the army repeated, each in their own fashion. Excited, happy noises.

"Am I crazy or do those sound like the birds we heard earlier?" Sadie observed.

"Then I guess I'm crazy too." Steven joked.

Lars made the smallest noise of agreement. The melons turned back to their prisoners and aimed their spears all in the same direction before they began to march. It was easy for Steven to match their pace; they were roughly the same size as him. He made a game out of walking in their footprints to try and distract himself from the true horror of the situation. Every few seconds he'd turn around to make sure Lars and Sadie were still there, still safe. They kept up that constant pace until they arrived at the top of a hill overlooking a valley.

The valley was completely destroyed. Trees ripped up by their roots, strewn everywhere Steven looked; against fractured rocks, atop broken structures, and bridging the difference between the two sides of a nearby river. There were deep indentation marks in the earth, and where they may have once been nothing but a wide expanse of grass and trees was demolished. When Steven was finally able to look past the destruction, he instead looked to the assembly of buildings.

They were all lined up in neat rows, beside neat streets. The integrity was still there, the foundation on which the small community was built, but many of the wooden houses lay in ruins just as the rest of the valley did. Like some grave injustice had been cast down upon them and destroyed everything they worked so hard to build. Steven could even begin to make out what looked to be farms, albeit crushed into the ground. A grand monument, cut in half but still towering great above the rest of what remained. The statue was, of course, a giant watermelon Steven with a star carved into its stomach, and all around that statues were destroyed nests and colorful peacocks mourning the loss. A particularly beautiful one caught Steven's gaze; it was as if he had been split in half, with one half being green and all the colored of the rainbow and the other being pure white.

"Woah..."

The small leader melon leader stood up high and called a bird call into the open lands; loud and jarring and nothing like the sweet sounds they had cooed to each other before. Like some scene from a horror movie, more the watermelon Steven's began to appear from the ruins. Some big and dark, others small and light, and even more average on both accounts. Some holding the smallest among them while the biggest ones stood guard over them. Some with spears and skirts and others with hats and long gowns. In fact, though Steven searched, he couldn't see any two that were exactly the same.

The star-painted leader gave another cry, and the congregation below repeated the cry. Once the leader was satisfied, it lowered its voice into those quiet and calming bird songs. Sometime during it he pulled Steven close to him, and the crowd below gawked at the sight.

"Um. Hello?" Steven waved.

Like one solid hive mind, they all waved back.

The group of spear-carrying melons behind Steven, Lars, and Sadie jabbed at the three and Steven took it as a hint to begin descending the hill to meet with the rest of their community.

"Are you sure this is a good plan?" Sadie asked Steven.

"Nope." Steven answered honestly.

The moment they were within reach, the friends were ripped away from each other as each Steven found their favorite human. Most of them surrounded Steven, and a small group surrounded Sadie as well. Lars had one or two curious in his existence, but even that seemed too much for him. Steven felt constricted being surrounded by so many of his clones, all trying to touch him or caress him or hold his hand. Steven struggled to keep up until another loud cry parted the crowds. He watched with the rest while he could only guess they were receiving orders from the star-painted one.

As a unit, the crowd split evenly into four groups. Three of them lifted up their guests (or prisoners), while the forth group ran quickly ahead. From the scraps they searched until they found what they were looking for, and Steven watched in astonishment as a cot of thatch and leaves seemed to appear before his very eyes; then a second, then a third. Before the other groups even arrived, the fourth group had done their duty and were ready to present the beds. Steven was laid down in the middle one, then Lars and Sadie were put beside him.

The three crowds parted as the fourth returned and approached the humans; on their heads, they laid crowns of flowers and around their neck beautiful necklaces of seashells and polished rocks. A few of them dipped their hands into coconuts halves holding colored paint,. Steven didn't dare move or even breathe as they began to paint on him and Lars and Sadie. The lead melon appeared from the crowd, dipping his hand into golden paint and used it to draw a rough star-shape on Steven's pajamas.

The village hooted and hollered in their bird calls, and a few threw their flower crowns into the air in celebration.

"Steven what are they doing?" Sadie asked.

"I don't know!" Steven said, "Maybe they're having a celebration? I think…" He looked down at his star, "I'm a part of it?"

Three melons in woven gowns stepped forward, holding wooden plates adorned with all sorts of things: berries, a green coconut half with a straw of wood. Strange fruits that Steven couldn't begin to recognize, and an even stranger paste in a bowl beside the fruit, with swirling colors of blue and red and yellow. The presenters gave a plate to each of the guests before giving a gracious bow and walking backwards to fade away.

"They're… feeding us?" Steven asked.

Sadie gulped. "That's never a good sign."

Lars couldn't talk, for his mouth was full of berries. He stopped chewing immediately at Sadie's words.

"It's not?"

"They usually feed sacrifices before, you know, sacrificing them."

Lars swallowed his mouthful nervously. "Oh."

Steven sniffed cautiously at the drink they offered on the platter. He looked back up, and his clones nodded encouragingly. Steven took a hesitant sip through the straw and flinched the moment the salty, sweet liquid touched his tongue.

He spat the concoction out. "It's salty."

Lars took Steven's cue and tasted the drink as well. He had the same reaction as Steven, but didn't spit it out. Sadie followed Lars and sipped; she didn't gag as the boys had, but definitely didn't seem happy with the situation.

"It sure is... an _acquired_ taste?" She offered, and then took another sip. "I'm not sure I like this." She continued to drink it, despite her concerns. "Tastes _familiar_."

Sadie laughed at herself, but Steven was confused as to why.

"Don't even go there." Lars warned with narrowed eyes, and that only made Sadie laugh more.

Steven picked up a blue berry and tasted it. Immediate happiness sparked in him, and he meticulously picked the blue fruits from the pile.

"Blue's are _good_!"

Lars tried the berries, and then Sadie did too. They both seemed to agree with Steven and started stuffing their faces with the sweet treats.

"So much for your sacrifice theory, huh?" Lars joked.

Sadie huffed. "It's still possible, but if I die, it's gonna be with a full stomach."

Steven couldn't agree more. He eventually made his way through the other berries, all the while acutely aware of the unblinking eyes staring at him with wonder. It didn't take him long to clear the platter, and he even attempted a few more sips from the coconut, though each ended with him shoving even more berries into his mouth to get rid of the taste.

Steven held the empty plate out to the Watermelon Stevens. "All done!"

They seemed excited about that.

"Can we go home now?"

The melons all shook their head. The leader returned and shoved something into Steven's mouth; honeycomb. Before Steven could have a chance to spit it out, he was pulled into the crowd, honey and mud slathered into his hair and padded into his clothes. Then he was being lifted high in the air like some sort of deity being worshiped.

"Lars!" He cried out, "Sadie!"

"Steven!"

Sadie tried to sit up, but the army surrounding her quickly pushed her back into the cot.

"Help!"

The warriors surrounding him started chanting. They wandered through the ruins of their destroyed home, and farther down the valley to where the destruction was at its worst. Then they dropped Steven to the ground without a care, beginning to strip him of all the accessories they had gifted him, smudging the star so loving painted on his bedclothes. Then they began to leave.

"What, what's going on?" Steven asked them, and the Star Leader paused.

It held out its hands, and one of its followers handed it a horn. It took a deep breath and blew into the horn with a loud cry that echoed through the island. It pointed, it's followers pointed, and Steven followed their guidance.

The earth began to quake, like something beneath its surface had suddenly awoken. Except it wasn't below the earth, it was above it, and whatever it was, Steven could see straight through it. It was like it was nothing but thin air, and Steven could almost believe it was thin air if it hadn't had one telltale sign of its presence. Every step the monster took, every time the earth quaked, there would appear a footprint. Deep, defined, and bigger than Steven was. There was a whole trail of them, leading to (Steven could only guess) where the beast now stood.

"Um, what's that?" Steven looked around, beyond his freezing fear, to try and seek comfort in the sentient plants that once surrounded him. He was alone.

Steven got to his feet and started to back up, feeling a whimper rise in the back of his throat and escape with no efforts to stop it.

"You're a gem mutant… am I meant to fight you?"

The invisible creature growled a shuddering growl and continued her steady approach. Steven wanted to run but his fear weighed him to the spot like a cinder block. The mutant suddenly stopped her approach. Steven let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding inside him, and could slowly feel the glue holding him in place begin to weaken. Then the earth started shaking again, and the path of the monster grew more swift, grew louder, like it was approaching. It was approaching! And fast!"

Steven barely had enough time to encase himself in his safety bubble before he was knocked to the ground by the force of something seizing the rosy wall and lifting it into the air. Steven screamed as the bubble was thrown violently from side to side, with him flying along with it. He curled into a ball to try and protect himself from the violet thrashing, but there was little he could do to stop it.

Then he was falling, and for a moment he thought his bubble had burst, but then he realized the rose-tinted hue still surrounded him, and he really was falling!

Slow down, slow down, slow down!

The bubble around him popped, but Steven didn't fall. He remained where he was in the air, as if levitating by some magic, but then he slowly started to drift back to the safety of the island.

Steven sighed his relief, but then the true danger of the situation occurred to him, and he searched around frantically for any sign of the monster. There, towering high above him, there was a splash of brown outlined against the sky. Steven got his answer as to what it was when he saw a projectile fire through the air and slam into the unseen creature. Mud.

"Hey ugly!"

Steven recognized Sadie's voice and looked to where he heard it. Sadie was soaked and covered in mud, waist deep in the slow-flowing river. Lars crouched on the nearby shore, cowering behind a rock.

"Not so bad when we can see you, huh?"

Sadie reached beneath the surface and pulled out a handful of mud, lunging it through the air. The monster roared her hatred as the sod hit its target and made her visible to the attackers.

"Steven, run!"

The moment Steven's feet touched solid ground, he did just that. He took off running so fast he nearly lost his balance, but he didn't stop. He didn't know where he was running, with everything blurring around him in an array of sounds and faded colors, until he stopped suddenly to catch his breath and found himself surrounded by trees on all sides. It took him awhile to find his bearings, to look back to where he came from and to see the battle still raging on without him.

"Lars! Sadie!"

Steven started to turn back to help, but quickly when he realized he wasn't alone.

"Melons?"

Steven pushed aside the low-hanging leaves of a powerful tree to see the cowering, whining Steven melons huddled together in their fear. Every time the fight in the background would get louder, they'd yet out shrill cries and pack in closer together. Despite the chaos surrounding him, Steven never felt more calm.

"Have you all been here the whole time? I mean, not here, here. When I told you to go away, you came here."

A few of the larger melons nodded their agreement. Steven pulled them in close, and found his eyes settled on the golden star on the lead melon. Baby melon.

"You brought them here?"

The leader nodded.

"You came here, and you built a home. You built _families_..." Steven looked at the smallest melons among them, "But then she came and destroyed everything you built."

All beady eyes were on him.

"You can't just... _hide_ from your problems. They won't go away that way, even when you try to cast them off on someone else. It will still always be your problem. Even if you run away, the problem still exists..." A realization began to dawn deep in Steven, and he was no longer talking to his companions, but himself. "I ran away to this island to try and get away, and instead I found you. Or, you found me. We were both running from our problems, and we tried to cast them onto someone else, so maybe we're not that different after all. Come with me, and I can help you beat her! But I can't do it alone."

Steven gave them the chance to consider. The leader looked to his melons, and began to whistle. The others whistled in response, growing louder and louder until it was basically a war cry. They raised their spears high.

"That's it!" Steven encouraged, and the cheer grew louder, "Now are you _cowards_, or are you _melons_?!"

The melons screeched something that sounded surprisingly like the latter, and then they charged past Steven. Steven laughed, and he ran after them, hooting and hollering right along with them. The unarmed among them split off from the rest in the direction of the river as the ones armed with spears charged into the valley. Star Leader was the first to cast his spear blindly into the air, and the first to reach the target.

The transparent gem beast roared her dissatisfaction as the spear pieced through her invisible skin. That was the cue for countless other melons to launch their weapons at the monster, while the muddy assault from the river only continued to grow. The mud coated the gem corruption, and gave a bigger target for the attackers to aim for. Whenever one would miss, another would run off to retrieve the lost spear and try again; the same thing would happen when the beast shook a few arrows loose. The onslaught seemed endless.

The creature brought down a heavy, muddy tail and shattered a few of the nearby melons into pieces.

Steven flinched at a loud swear from Sadie, and turned to see her still in the water with the army now surrounding her, holding her face. When she removed her hands, it was coated in blood.

"_Sadie_!" Steven and Lars' voices mixed as one.

"I'm _fine_!" Sadie reached into the water and pulled out a spear, baring her teeth in a snarl. "But I'm ending this _now_!"

Sadie rushed out of the river, spear in hand, and charged past the gem mutant to a nearby tree. She scaled it with all the skill and agility of someone twice her size, until she stood on one of the highest branches. She crouched over it to keep her balance, with one hand on the branch to add to it. The melons didn't need to be told what to do next. They stopped throwing their quickly dwindling supply of spears and started instead to slowly approach the monster and force her back. She hissed and roared, but the melon's efforts weren't enough to push her to the tree line.

Then there was a cry, and a flash of white and green as a grand bird flew high, with an impressive wingspan and powerful claws. The peacock forced the monster back the few feet that was still required for the plan to work, and Sadie saw her chance and took it too.

She jumped, and for a moment Steven could almost believe his friend was flying, but she came down hard and drove the spear even harder into the back of the creatures neck. There was a howl of pain and a great explosion, and then the monster was gone and so was the mud that clung to her pelt. Then Sadie was falling fast, but the melons were there to catch her; Steven was too preoccupied with catching something else.

When the monster was poofed, in the sunlight appeared a beautiful speck of blue, and Steven was there to catch it when the gemstone drifted down to the earth. He quickly put it in his pocket for safe keeping, and then ran to join the celebration.

"Sadie!" Steven had his arms out for a hug, but was quickly pushed aside.

Instead, it was Lars to steal the hug, and Sadie flushed a red that had nothing to do with the sunburn taking hold on her skin.

"Sadie, that was incredible!" Lars tried to lift her up, but quickly realized he lacked the strength; Sadie picked him up instead.

"Yeah!" Steven got back up, and ran into the crowd, "You did it!"

His clones were having celebrations of their own; crying out victory cries and hugging each other and the human that had saved them.

"This whole thing was a nice gesture, Steven." Sadie said, "But I really think we should go home now."

"Yeah." Lars agreed, "This whole 'exotic island' thing isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Steven felt guilt begin to creep in. "I'm sorry I brought you here…"

"Don't be!" Sadie insisted, "If we hadn't have been here, we never would have saved these cute little guys."

Sadie picked up one of the smaller melons and cradled it like a baby. The half-white peacock leaped onto Sadie's shoulder and settled there. Sadie struggled at first under the sudden weight, then laughed as she reached up to stroke his head.

"Yeah!" Lars said, and he actually smiled, "Even though I never want to see your face again-"

"Lars!" Sadie smacked him on the head.

"Ow!" That didn't stop Lars from finishing, "I gotta admit this whole thing was a lot less boring than doing nothing back in town. And to be honest, working at the Big Donut doesn't seem nearly as bad as this place."

That earned him another slap.

"Ow!"

Steven couldn't help but laugh. He turned to the Star Leader. "Thank you for feeding us, and helping us poof that gem mutant, but we wanna go home now."

The small melon hung his head, but nodded. From there, he and his village lead the group through the jungle with all the expert of a native, and before Steven knew it he recognized where they were. He saw the notches Sadie made on the tree, and then he saw the shiny metal of the warp pad. Steven ran up to it with Lars and Sadie at his side, and he had never before been so happy to see one.

"Thank you, baby melon."

The leader smiled and, if melons could blush, he would have been.

Steven stepped on the warp pad, and his friends grabbed a hold of him. The peacock left Sadie's shoulder and flew off down the path and out of sight; Steven was actually kind of sad to see it go. The melon leader made an abrupt noise and ran forward, reaching up onto his head and pulling off his feather crown. He handed it off to Steven.

"For me?" Steven asked as he slowly took the delicate gift.

Another melon separated off, and took the necklace of flowers from around her neck, placing it around Sadie's instead. Sadie stared at it in awe.

"Thank you! It's beautiful!"

Lars looked around like he was expecting to receive a gift too, and when he got nothing, he crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine. I didn't want anything anyway."

Steven grabbed a hold of Lars and Sadie once more and began to warp back home.

* * *

Sadie and Lars left immediately after exchanging silent farewells with Steven. It was strange, leaving a place so brightly lit to return to another place where the sun was only beginning to rise and start it's slow stretch across the horizon in a rainbow of colors. Steven knew he could go back to sleep, pretend he had never done anything else that night (or day), but he didn't. He could, but he couldn't. Instead, he sat on the floor, occasionally stealing a glance to the sleeping form of his father, but never moving. It wasn't until the sun had started to seep through the windows and the rest of the town started to stir that the gems returned.

Spinel and Pearl seemed shocked to find him awake, but Garnet only smiled. Steven was quick to explain the whole thing before they could ask too many questions, starting from the first moment he created the living melons to the nightmare he had just experienced on the other side of the world. At first, Pearl tried to interject constantly, but as the explanation went on, she fell silent. And when Steven was finally able to wrap up his story, it was Garnet who spoke first.

"Rose was able to create sentient plant life to act as her defenders. These plant soldiers lived solely to fight. Never before have they sought out lives of their own…"

"Rose never gave them the chance…" Pearl observed.

Steven sighed when he failed to sense a fraction of anger in any of the three; only sadness. An overwhelming, nauseating sadness.

"I'm sorry for not telling you."

"I'm sorry for smothering you!" Spinel said, and though she raised her hands in preparation for a hug, she quickly caught herself and flinched back. "After Lapis… we were scared you would go running off again."

"I'm sorry too." Pearl added, "Spinel took my explanation, but the apology still stands."

Spinel stuck her tongue out.

"Garnet?" Steven looked up at the giant.

Garnet lowered her head. "I knew you were going to go there, Steven. It was inevitable."

Steven blinked. "It was?"

"I could have stopped you, sure, but then you would have never come to this conclusion on your own."

"I agree." Pearl conquered, "Though it would have been even better if you would have _told_ _us_, _too, _Garnet."

Garnet looked down at her. "You expect me to believe you wouldn't go after him."

"Well uh," Pearl blushed, "Oh. Hum."

"She's got a point you know." Spinel smirked.

"Well, despite that," Pearl brushed over the topic and kneeled down to Steven's height to put a hand on his shoulder. "You should never be afraid to ask us for space."

"Though we could probably be better at taking a hint." Spinel half-joked.

"So you're not mad?" Steven didn't know why he bothered asking.

Garnet laughed softly. "Steven, I'd never be mad at you."

"Me neither!" Spinel echoed.

"Nor I!" Pearl added.

"_What? What'z goin on_?"

Everyone looked to Greg, still frazzled in his half-asleep state and drooling on himself. They all laughed.

* * *

A few days later was Christmas. They did the same thing they did every year; two weeks prior, they had each drawn a name from a hat and had to get that person a gift. This year they had invited Connie over to join them in their festivities; her family didn't celebrate the holiday themselves, but they wre more than happy to let Connie experience it for herself (after a few hours of convincing argument). Steven had been praying that he would get Connie's name, and luck played out on his side. She was the first to present her gift, being the youngest, and she brought a brightly colored gift bag over to Spinel.

Spinel squealed and pulled out a gift delicately wrapped in newspaper. She carefully unwrapped the covering and held up the gift for all to see: A beautifully detailed brass elephants head, wearing what seemed to be a hat on its head. Many designs danced across it in an array of patterns, and the trunk hung down low and curled up.

"It's a wall decoration." Connie explained, "It's supposed to be good luck."

Spinel thanked Connie, and put the artifact in her gem for safekeeping. Then it was Steven's turn; he couldn't remember ever moving so fast before as he pulled out the small box and handed it over to Connie. Connie opened it, and her eyes immediately lit up.

Inside was a simple silver necklace, with a star-shaped pendant engraved with the words "_Good Friends are like stars, You don't always see them but you know that they are always there_." Connie covered her mouth, but that couldn't hide her grin.

"Oh Steven! I love it!" She pulled Steven into a hug, and Steven accepted. "Thank you!"

She closed the box back up and sat it on her lap, though that smile still clung to her face.

"Here, I got this for you Stew-ball." Greg gave two gifts to Steven, neither of them wrapped; a box of chocolate and a small stuffed bear with a Christmas hat on.

"Thanks dad!" Steven immediately started to cuddle the bear, "He's _so_ soft!

"My turn!" Amethyst stood up and grabbed one of the two things beside her; a long box poorly wrapped in brown paper. Amethyst gave the package over to Pearl. "Here you go."

"Thank you..." Pearl seemed hesitant to take the box, but she did anyway. She pulled the wrapping off (though all it took was for her to remove a single piece of tape) to reveal a wooden box. She opened it up, and her eyes widened at the contents.

"What is it?" Steven asked anxiously.

Pearl pulled out one of the things inside. "It's a tea bag."

"Shaped like a fish!" Amethyst had a lot more energy than usual, and she seemed extremely proud of it, "You like fish, right?"

"Well, I supposed I do, but..." Pearl put the fish-shaped bag back in the box, "Why is one of them missing?"

Amethyst froze. "I got hungry."

Pearl sighed, but it was clear she had expected no different. She closed the box, and folded her hands over her lap. "Thank you, Amethyst."

"I knew you'd love it!" Amethyst cheered. "I also got you this!" From her gemstone, Amethyst summoned two small slips of paper and handed them over.

Pearl gasped, and nearly fell over when she saw what it was.

"What?" Steven asked eagerly, "What are they?"

"_Two tickets to the Gold Crest Aquarium_!" Pearl cheered.

"One for you, one for a friend!"

Amethyst squawked as Pearl picked her up in a hug and squeezed her tight.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

"Can't she see fish any time?" Connie asked, "I mean, she doesn't have to breath. She could just go underwater."

"But these are _exotic_ fish!" Pearl exclaimed, "_Rare_ fish! I can't believe you got me these!"

"What can I say? Bitches _love_ fishes!"

Pearl scoffed and immediately dropped Amethyst. "_Vulgar_!" She hmphed and stomped back over to put her gifts in her gemstone.

Amethyst frowned, and Steven could feel genuine fear radiating off of her as she whispered, "But bitches _love_ fishes..."

"I'm next." Garnet stood up, and picked up a small book beside her. She didn't move for the longest time, then she sat back down with the book in her lap. "Thanks. I love it."

"Huh?"

Garnet looked slowly up. "I picked my own name."

"Then... why didn't you pick another?" Spinel asked.

Garnet stared. "I like me." She held up the hand-crafted book titled "_52 things I like about you_", "I really like me."

"Well then." Spinel said, "I suppose it's my turn."

She brought a parcel over to Amethyst, covered in beautiful pink wrapping paper. Amethyst ripped into it at once, and pulled out a colorful box.

"Sweet!" She cheered in a sing-song voice. She showed the rest of the family a unicorn-shaped mug, "Look at this masterpiece."

"It was on clearance." Spinel added.

Amethyst smiled. "Even better! It's cheap like me!" She got a few laughs out of that.

"Okay Pearl," Steven said, "Now you!"

Pearl huffed softly and stood up with an elegant grace, picking up the bag beside her and offered the bag to Greg. Greg dug around in the bag until he was finally able to find one of it's contents beneath all the tissue paper.

"Hey, bath bombs!" He cheered, "And they're _donut_ shaped!"

"There should be twelve in there." Pearl added.

Greg continued to dig around until he had found the dozen. "This is great! Thanks Pearl! Now I can smell like..." He squinted at some of the labels, "_Gingersnap_ and _peppermint twist_."

Pearl tried to hide her smile. "I'm glad you like it."

Amethyst threw her arms in the air, "Beckfast time!"

"It's breakfast." Pearl corrected.

Amethyst did the same movement. "_Beckfast_!"

* * *

Amethyst waited until she could Greg alone before she dared to approach him. "Hey."

Greg nearly choked on his drink, and started to fall into a couching fit. Amethyst tried to pat him on the back, but Greg quickly pushed him away, and so Amethyst let him finish on his own.

When the coughing began to dwindle, she said, "You good?"

Greg cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry. Scared me." He looked away from Amethyst.

"Listen, I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see, and I'll leave you alone, but I just wanted to... give you your gift."

"What do you mean?" Greg inquired, "Pearl got my name, not you."

"Yeah, I know, but... I just feel bad for how I acted a few weeks ago... I wanted to try and make it up to you. It's not much, but here." Amethyst summoned the gift from her gemstone and handed it off to Greg. "It's about a thousand I think; I lost count. But it should help you repair your van. I know you didn't want to get a new one, ya know... nostalgia and all that."

"Amethyst..." Greg shook his head slowly, "I can't accept this! Where did you even get all this money?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Eh, sex pays. And it pays a helluva lot when you can be whatever they want."

Greg stared at her with a sad look in his eyes. "You shouldn't have done that. I don't feel right taking this."

"It's my choice, and it pays the bills. Keep it, Greg. Sorry I couldn't get more."

Greg struggled to find the words, and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "I don't know how to thank you..."

There was a ding as the timer of the oven went off; Pearl and Steven where there cooking together. Steven used mits to pull the tray of cookies out of the oven, and started to make his way over to Greg with a bright, proud look in his eye. Amethyst elbowed Greg in the side.

"You can thank me by spending some time with your boy."

"Dad!" Steven beamed, "Look! Cookies!"

Greg quickly stuffed the money in his pocket and stood up with a smile.

"Wow! Those loose amazing Stew-ball!"

Steven beamed as his father pet him on the head. "Wanna help me put them on the plate so they can cool off?"

"I'm right behind you, son."

Steven ran off to the kitchen, and before Greg followed after, he turned back to Amethyst and mouthed '_thank you_'.


	23. Going dark

**Notice: I am aware the Big Donut on the show doesn't have tables; just assume the one in this universe does. **

"It was something your mother wanted you to have," Pearl was saying, "She made it just for you to have when your powers started to develop. She gave it to me for safe keeping before..."

Pearl didn't have to finish the sentence for Steven to understand perfectly. The book was small, yet suprisingly heavy, with a plain brown cover with an old, preserved rose taped onto it. Steven opened the book and flipped through the pages, not taking the time to obsorb any information, but to just bask in the glory of the delicate, cursive writting that filled its pages.

"She wrote this?"

"Yes, Steven." Pearl's voice was soft and somber, "She wrote it for you. We didn't know if you would have any powers or if you would just be human. Rose wanted to make sure we were ready to handle your powers if you did have them, and you do! So I think it's time I gave it to you."

Steven held the book close, and though it was old and cold and smelled of paper, it was perfect. At least, to him.

"Pearl, can I call Connie over?" Steven asked, "I wanna show her the book!"

Pearl blinked at that. "Steven, I was hoping we could... go over the book together!"

"Oh, we can!" Steven brushed past, "But I wanna share it with Connie first! She's gonna love it!"

"Oh... well, I _suppose_..."

"Thank's Pearl!" Steven gave her a quick hug and then hurried over to the phone to call Connie. She answered after the second ring. "Connie!"

Steven explained to his friend quickly what happened, and they made arrangements to meet up at the Big Donut to look at the book together; Steven had suggested his house at first, but then Connie had offered to pay, and Steven couldn't bring himself to say no to free food. He took the book with him and found a place to sit, and as he waited for his friend to arrive, he buisied himself with talking to Sadie and Lars.

At least, he _tried_ to. Though he talked to them, they didn't talk to him; they seemed far more preoccupied with something else.

"How does _that_," Lars pointed to Ronaldo, "Get _that_?!" He pointed to the woman that Ronaldo was sitting with.

Steven looked at Ronaldo's companion. She was a short, attractive woman with a mane of ginger curls and a face full of freckles. She wore clothes that clung tightly to her curvy frame, and bold makeup that outlined her features. On her lap was a purse that looked more expensive than any house in Beach City, and on her face a pair of glasses that, despite the expensive appearance of the rest of her person, were taped on the bridge.

"They've been talking for hours!" Sadie said in disbelief.

They were talking, and rather loudly; up to that point, Steven had tried to ignore them, but now he tried to listen in.

"... mixed with all the inbreeding is a pretty clear indication that the queen's descended from reptilians !"

"Well, that I'd like to see!" Ronaldo declared, "I haven't much gotten into the whole reptilian theory myself; I'm more fond of the Sneeple and Rock People myself."

"Like on your blog!" His companion said, "And that's what got me thinking! What if the reptilians and the Sneeple are like, cousins?"

"Yo! That would make so much sense! What if, like, the reptilians are at the top and their cousins the Sneeple control the general population?"

"Now that, I could get behind."

"That explains it." Sadie whispered sourly.

The sound of the door opening made Steven turn around to see Connie entering, a purse slung over her shoulder and pushing her false glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Connie!" Steven ran over and hugged his best friend.

Connie returned the hug with the same rigor. "So, where's this book?" She pushed up her glasses again.

Steven gave her the book, and watched excitedly as Connie flipped through the pages.

"I haven't read any of it yet; I wanted to read it with you."

Connie closed the book and gave a wide smile. "Then what are we waiting for?"

She tugged the book under her arm and grabbed Steven by his hand, leading him to a nearby table to sit down. She shoved the book toward Steven.

"Open it!"

Steven almost did, and then another idea came to him. "We can open it together!"

Connie smiled and nodded, putting her hand on Steven's. Together, they flipped to the first page.

"We can take turns reading!" Connie said, "You can read the first page since it's your book."

Steven cleared his throat and started to read. "_My dearest child, I am so glad you are reading this book. I am sorry I am not there to tell you this myself, but I hope this book helps you come to terms with your powers._" Steven paused. "_Shapeshifting_. Huh. Never done that before."

"Keep reading!" Connie urged.

Steven could feel a tightness growing in his chest, threatening to strangle the life from him. "You read." He pushed the book over to his friend.

Connie picked up where Steven left off.

"_I am sure you are aware of what shapeshifting is. Living around Amethyst it would be impossible not to. Shapeshifting was the first power I learned, and I have no doubt that it is the first one you will learn_."

"Whelp. That's wrong." Steven said.

"Maybe we should skip to the ones you can already do?" Connie suggested.

Steven nodded. "Yeah! Do that!"

Connie flipped through a few of the pages. "Oh! You can do this one! Floating. A power you may have inherited from our gemstone is the power to control your speed of descent. I learned it late in my life, during the war... _war_?"

Steven stared. "What war?"

"I dunno." Connie flipped through a few of the pages, using her finger to keep her page, "It doesn't say anything about a war."

Steven felt numb. "Keep reading."

Connie continued. "During the war, when many of my other powers came to light. I was young then and still learning about myself and my powers as you are now. I wish there had been something like this book to guide me, but there wasn't. I am glad to give to give you an opportunity I didn't have. Steven, are you okay?"

Steven took a shaky breath. "Yeah... I'm fine..."

"You wanna stop?"

"Maybe... let's just get some donuts now."

Steven nodded. They both took off together toward the counter. As they placed their orders and Sadie went off to retrieve them, Steven heard the jingle of the bell as someone else entered the store.

Connie growled. "Look at who just came in."

Steven looked, and felt his heard drop when he saw Mason and his friends.

"What do they want?" He tried to watch discreetly to see what the three boys would do. He saw them look around, and for a moment their eyes passed over him and Connie. Then they snapped back to them and locked on tight.

They made their way over to the counter.

"What are you doing here?" Connie snarled, turning around immediately.

Mason rolled his eyes. "Like I want to be? I can think of way better ways to spend my winter break than being here. There's nothing to do in this town."

"Well you're welcome to leave." Connie said.

"Would if I could." Mason said.

"No one's stopping you."

"Connie." Steven held onto Connie's arm to stop her from lunging.

"Yeah." Mason smirked, "But someone's stopping _you_."

"Leave these kids alone." Sadie said as she returned with Connie and Steven's donuts, "They haven't done anything to you."

"Whatever." Mason rolled his eyes, "Let's go."

Steven watched as the group walked over to join Ronaldo and his companion.

"Think she's one of their sister's?" Steven asked.

"Or she's the babysitter." Connie joked, "They might be older than us, but they do act like babies."

Steven couldn't hide his laughter. Connie paid for their food, and then they went back to their table to try and enjoy it.

It didn't take long for trouble to return, the moment Steven had gotten out the book again.

"What's that you got there?" Rubin asked.

"A book." Connie said with a roll of her eyes, "Doubt you've ever seen one."

"It looks weird." Rubin said.

"What's with the flower on the cover?" Haider added.

"My mom's name was Rose." Steven said, "I guess that's the reason."

"What? Was she a witch or something?"

Steven felt heat bubbling inside him, but it was nothing like the heated rage that he felt growing inside Connie. "She... wasn't anything but good." Steven said slowly.

"Well, only a _witch_ would do something like that." Mason pointed to preserved Rose.

"And only a witch could give birth to something as _ugly_ as you." Haider added.

"Bet your little friend here's a witch; heard it's part of her religion."

Steven barely had time to grab onto Connie before she was lunging forward, and he was pulling her back. The older boys began to laugh. Steven felt a third rush of heat, and turned to see the short ginger woman and Ronaldo making their way over to them. The boys immediately stopped laughing.

"Why don't you just leave them alone?" She asked, "They're just trying to eat their donuts."

"Come on, Sabina." Mason rolled his eyes, "It's not like he _needs_ any more sugar anyway. He's just going to end up on the street like his good for nothing dad."

"Don't talk about my dad!" Steven cried out, and that only made Mason all the more smug.

"_Technically_," Ronaldo added to the conversation, "He is half Rock Person, and Rock People are _very_ loyal to their fellow rocks, so he would never end up like Greg."

Sabina grabbed Ronaldo's arm. "Ronnie, sweetness, why don't you go get us some more donuts?"

"I'll do my best!" Ronaldo went to leave, but then quickly turned back around, "Can I have some money first?"

Sabina smiled and rolled her eyes as she reached into her purse and gave Ronaldo a few dollar bills.

"Yeah." Mason said, "I don't know about Rock People, but I do know something." He leaned close to Steven, "The only reason anyone like you is because you're easy. You're simple, and you'd do anything without question. I wonder how many people would like you if you had a mind of your own."

"That's _enough_!" Sabina dragged Mason away from Steven by the scruff of his neck, "Get out." She tossed some money at him. "I don't care where you go, but don't stay here."

Mason huffed, but pocketed the money. "Fine. We're going to the Funland."

Steven watched as they left, and held his breath until he could no longer see them. Once they were out of sight, he finally let go of Connie. Connie crossed her arms.

"Friends of yours?" She asked Sabina.

Sabina sighed. "Friends of the family, I'm afraid."

"Sabby, I got all the donuts." Ronaldo returned with a bag full of every type of donut you could buy.

"Let's hear more about these Rock People." Sabina lead Ronaldo back to their table, and Ronaldo immediately took off into a long, detailed description of the cripid.

Steven and Connie sat back down.

"I can't believe those guys." Connie said.

"Do you think it's really true?"

Connie looked up at Steven.

"Do they only like me cause I'm _'easy'_?"

"_What_?" Connie shook her head, "Of course not!" She grabbed Steven's hands in hers.

"Well, how do you know?" Steven asked, "You're not them!"

"Steven, they're just trying to get to you."

Steven pulled his hands free of Connie's and held his book close to his chest. "But maybe they're right! How do I know?"

"You're being ridiculous, Steven; the gems love you!"

"But I have to be sure!" Steven insisted, "I just have to be."

Connie took off her glasses. "Steven, they love you for you, not for who you are." She got a mischievous grin on her face, "And I know just how to prove it."

* * *

Greg and the gems were in the middle of discussing Amethyst when Steven walked in. He had Connie with him, of course, and they had both been gone for such a long while that Pearl was starting to worry, but she tried her best to ignore her screaming thoughts; Steven has asked them for space, and they were going to give it to him as long as he needed it. She immediately felt a weight lift off of her shoulder when she heard that door open, but that weight immediately returned, except to her chest instead.

Steven's usually beautiful curls, so reminiscent of his mothers, laid flat and lifeless, covering his left eye. Spiked piercings stuck through his nose, upper lip, and one of his ears. His face was adorned with dark, bold makeup. His clothes were mostly the same, except with torn sleeves, and on his forearm a skull-and-crossbones tattoo.

"Steven!" Pearl wailed, feeling her gem pulsate with shock, "What _happened_ to you?"

Steven stepped slowly inside, looked around with that innocent gleam in his eyes, and blew his hair out of his face only for it to fall straight back down. Connie walked in beside him and put two hands on his shoulder.

"Steven got a makeover!" She explained.

"Um. Yeah!" It still sounded like Steven, even if it didn't look like him, "I thought it was time for a wardrobe change!" He held the bottom of his shirt and gave a half-turn, "What do you think?"

Spinel raised a finger, concern etched onto her face as she pointed at the tattoos and piercings. "Who... did that to you?"

"It was Ronaldo's new girlfriend." Steven answered.

"Her name's Sabina!" Connie added.

"And you..." Spinel swallowed, "Wanted that done?"

Steven looked away, his gaze on the floor, and dug his heel into the wood. "Yeah. Don't you like it?"

Spinel furrowed her brow, and then gave a slow smile and thumbs up. "You look... _great_, Steven. So... _emo_."

Steven grinned.

"Uh, yeah Stew-ball." Greg added, "I _really_ like what you did with your hair."

Steven's grin grew wider. Garnet scrutinized the tattoo on his arms, and Steven began to look nervous again.

"What?" He asked her.

Garnet hummed. "Nice tattoo Steven."

Steven grinned even wider, if it was possible.

"I..." all eyes were on Pearl, so she was going to make her words count, "I can't _believe_ you did this to yourself!"

Everyone else fell into a stunned quiet (except for Garnet, who seemed to expect it).

Steven looked near tears. "What?"

"Look at you!" She pulled at Steven's hair, "Your hair! You're face!"

Steven shrunk under her shouting. "I... like it."

"Well I _don't_! How could you do this to yourself?!" Pearl didn't give him a chance to response, "Better yet, how could that _'Sabina'_ do this to you? I'm going to go into town and give her a piece of my mind!"

"Pearl."

Pearl ignored Garnet's warning. She didn't know what this _Sabina_ looked like, but she was too furious to stop now. How could _anyone_ do that to a _child_? How could _Steven_ do that to his own body? A gem doing it was one thing; she could always change her mind and return back to her original form, but a human couldn't. What that clod did to Steven was _permanent_, and Pearl was going to punish her somehow.

It was easy to find Ronaldo Fryman hanging around the Big Donut, and it was even easier to deduce the woman beside him as the woman of Pearl's misfortune.

"Excuse me. Excuse me!"

Ronaldo and his friend turned around.

"Yes?" The girl asked innocently.

"That's one of the Rock People." Ronaldo whispered to her, "It's not one of the more important ones, so we should be fine."

Pearl ignored him. "Are you Sabina?"

"Why, yes I am." Sabina confirmed with a grin on her face. "Can I help you?"

"Yes you can." Pearl growled through her teeth, "I would like to know what gave you the right to desecrate my child!"

There was a glint in Sabina's eyes. "What gave me the right? Well, he did."

Pearl gasped. "_Excuse_ me?!"

"He gave me the right. It's his body, after all."

"That doesn't matter! He's a _child_!"

Sabina raised her eyes. "So you think, just because he's a child, he doesn't have a right to his own body?"

Pearl felt immediately flustered. "I... I _never_ said that!"

"Sure sounded like you did to me." Sabina responded.

"I would never say anything like that!" Pearl stomped her feet.

"I don't see what the big deal is, ma'am. Your son _wanted_ a makeover, I _gave_ him a makeover."

"The _'big_ _deal'_ is he's thirteen years old! He doesn't know what he wants for breakfast, let alone to make a decision like this! He can barely tell his left from his rights!"

"That doesn't give _you_ the right to make decisions for _his_ body. That's the kind of thing that pushes kids away."

"I'm not the problem here!" Pearl shouted.

"Really? Because you're the only problem I see."

"Why you...I!"

Sabina gave a smug grin at Pearl's expense.

"Ugh!" Pearl screamed her frustration and stomped off.

* * *

"Wow, Steven, I really like this new hair style you're going for..." Greg engaged, "I mean, your old one was fine, but this one is just... wow! It's your own, and that's... wonderful!"

Steven beamed, and it seemed he barely noticed the constantly pausing.

"Yeah!" Spinel said, "I remember when I changed mine; it was a very important stage in my life! And very sad."

Steven's eyes lit up. "You had a different hairstyle once?" He gasped.

"Well, _duh_! You think I was rocking these pigtails my whole life?" Spinel ran her hand through her hair, "It was _way_ different before."

"Different how?"

"Well um. Hold on." Spinel turned her back on Steven for a few moments, and when she turned back around, her pigtails were pulled up in tight, heart-shaped buns. "Like this!"

Steven gasped. "You look _so_ cute!"

Spinel grinned widely and chuckled, blushing a light shade of pink. Her buns immediately fell apart, and Steven pouted.

"Aw, I liked them like that."

Spinel shrugged, "Well, gems change, Steven. Surely you understand that." She ran her hand through Steven's hair and pushed it out of his face.

"Oh. Right." Steven averted his gaze. "Yeah."

"Well I for one like new Steven just as much as I loved old Steven." She wrapped her arm around Steven, "Maybe even more!"

Steven looked up at her with eyes that glimmered like a starry night, and the reflection in his eyes almost seemed like small, rippling hearts. Garnet didn't bother trying to hide her smile at the sight.

"Not that I don't like your new form, Steven..." Spinel began cautiously, "But... can I ask why you chose this particular appearance?"

"Well, I'm tired of being pushed around." Steven puffed out his chest, "So I'm gonna be strong from now on!"

Spinel offered him a small smile. "There's more than one way to be strong, Steven."

"Really?" Steven tilted his head. "I mean... I like this way better."

"Well that is your choice, Steven." Garnet said. "Though you will have to live with any consequences it brings."

"Like what?" Steven asked, "You never have consequences for things you do and you're the strongest person I know."

Spinel snickered, and even Garnet laughed a little.

"I'm only strong when I have to be. Which is always."

The door was thrown open and Pearl stomped inside, furious and growling to herself.

Spinel smirked. "What, giving Sabina '_a piece of your mind' _didn't go as well as you planned?"

Pearl began to pace in circle. "_Grr_. When I get that Sabina alone, I'm gonna make her wish she had never been born!"

"You will do nothing of the sort." Garnet said, "This is Steven's choice."

"Well, it's the _wrong_ choice!" Pearl stomped her foot.

"That's not your decision to make."

"Steven isn't mature enough to make that decision! Just the other day he was crying about snakes!"

Steven whimpered. "They don't have any arms."

"Neither do worms." Connie pointed out, and Steven gasped.

"Now I have to worry about worms too?"

"I'm sure the worms and snakes are fine, Steven." Pearl sighed.

"I like this new look." Greg said

Pearl scoffed. "As if your vote counts!"

"It..." Greg shrunk under Pearl's violent gaze, "Looks pretty cool..."

"I can't believe you're condoning this!" She got close to Greg and prodded him in the chest, then she spun around and opened her arms, "Any of you! Steven, take those piercings out now."

Steven looked her in the eye. "No."

Pearl gasped her offense. "_What_?"

"I said no." Steven defended, and Connie couldn't look prouder.

"That is enough." Garnet stood between Steven and Pearl before the situation could escalate further. "Steven, Connie, go wait outside."

"Yes Garnet." They said as a team.

Connie lead Steven out onto the porch. It was warmer than it had been for the past weeks, and Steven would have gladly basked in the glory of the heat if he didn't have so much on his mind. His dad and the gems had supported him, just as Connie said they would. All except Pearl, and maybe Amethyst, though Steven wasn't so worried about her. Amethyst didn't care much about anything unless it was food or sleep.

After a few minutes hiding out on the porch together, Connie took Steven's arm again and nodded to the door. Steven understood immediately and let himself be lead to it. Connie opened the door quietly and they both opened the door just a crack to listen inside.

"... refuse to let Steven do this to himself! I would think at least Garnet has some sense in her!" Pearl said.

"I do." Garnet responded, cool in the heat of Pearl's rage, "I have the sense to let Steven explore his own youth."

"As a parent, you're meant to support your kid, no matter what." Greg said. "And that's just what I intend to do with Steven; give him the freedom I never had."

"Well what if he wanted to be an axe murderer?"

"Then I'll buy him an axe!" Greg shot back, "Or make him one if it's too expensive."

"So you'd be okay with him going around killing people!?"

"It's a huge jump from going through a phase to killing people." Spinel pointed out.

"Well, what if it's not just a phase?!"

"Then we'll love him all the same!" Spinel said, "At least, _I_ will. Will _you_?"

"How could you suggest such a thing? I will love Steven no matter what!"

"Well you sure aren't _acting_ like it!" Spinel spat, "What you're acting like is a stuck up, know it all _bitch_ who think she's better than _everyone_!"

"_STOP_!" Steven had heard enough.

Connie stood supportive at Steven's side as all eyes turned on both of them.

"Steven!" Pearl gasped, putting a hand to her chest, "You were _spying_ on us?!"

"I'm sorry!" Steven closed his eyes as they brimmed with tears as he started to removing all the piercings that littered his body. "They're fake; just clip on."

An echo of gasp sounded across three of the four gathered; Garnet only stared, monotonous as ever.

"The tattoo too." Steven said, "It's just a fake one; it comes off in water. It's _all_ fake."

A collective sigh followed that.

"Oh thank God." Greg breathed.

"That's a relief!" Spinel sighed, flicking a bead of sweat off her forehead.

"It truly is." Pearl added.

"Mm." Was all Garnet said.

"But, why in the world did you pretend they weren't?" Pearl scolded, "That was _very_ irresponsible of you, Steven!"

"He-" Connie began, but stopped at a wave of Steven's hand.

"I wanted to prove something... and... _you_ proved it, Pearl."

Confusion was etched in Pearl's features.

"Someone told me that people only liked me so much because I was easy to get along with. So I wanted to see if you would like me..." Steven motioned to himself, "If I _wasn't_ me. They did." Steven pointed to Garnet, Spinel, and Greg, "But I'm not so sure _you_ did."

Pearl's face faded into one of pure fear. "You were... testing me? And I _failed_?" Her eyes rippled with emotion.

Steven looked away to avoid having to see the sad sight. "I'm sorry... they all did great... you... not so much."

"Oh Steven, I..." Pearl's voice wavered, "I..."

Steven shook his head. "It's fine. I'm just gonna... go back out."

Pearl raised a hand toward the child, but made no attempts to stop him as he left with his friend. Spinel shook her head, and Garnet sighed, while Greg only looked sadly to the regretful gem.

* * *

Steven and Connie returned together to the Big Donut. Connie ordered them both donuts, but Steven felt too sick to eat, or even to talk. His flat hair wrapped around his face in an uncomfortable fashion, clinging to his plump cheeks and blocking his vision.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Steven." Connie said as she barely picked at her dessert. "I didn't think Pearl would react like that. I should never have suggested it."

"No, I'm glad you did." Steven said, "It helped me clear my mind."

"There you are, Steven!"

Steven and Connie turned to the door to be faced with Sabina, Ronaldo, and Peedee, though the older Fryman brother had his face buried in some strange, beeping machine and the younger brother was taking notes (though he could have also been drawing; Steven couldn't tell). Steven also noticed the group of young boys loitering out front, not looking the least bit happy to be there.

Sabina walked up to the table and placed Steven's special book on it. "You left in such a hurry earlier you forgot this at Ronnie's place."

"Oh." Steven took the book. "Thanks." He wished he could be happier about it.

"I take it your family didn't react so well so your new... appearance." She fluffed Steven's hair, "Your uh... _family_ _member_ didn't take so kindly to me earlier."

"Yeah." Steven admitted, "Pearl can be a bit... _judgmental_."

"That's putting it lightly." Sabina joked. "Anyway, just wanted to give you your book."

Ronaldo shoved past her, following the beeping of his machine, and placed it against Steven's shoulder.

"There's a conspiracy afoot!" He said as the machine continued to beep.

Sabina peered over at the lights that flashed on its screen. "Oh! The readings are going crazy."

"They must be underground!" Ronaldo moved the machine away from Steven and to the ground, but immediately stopped beeping. "Or not. I think they know we're on to them." Ronaldo immediately turned around and hurried out the door in search of better readings.

"Wait for me!" Peedee ran immediately after him.

"I better go." Sabina said, "Well, anyway, good luck with your family, man."

With that, Sabina took her leave as well. Mason and his group immediately seized the opportunity to enter the shop and walk right up to Steven and Connie.

"Well, it seems I was _right_."

"Bug off, Mason."

Steven raised a hand, and immediately Connie fell silent. Steven got to his feet, stood up to his full height (which wasn't much) and approached Mason.

"Go away!"

"What?" Mason raised a brow and looked down at him.

"I said..." Steven closed his eyes and his face faded into a pink anger, "_GO_ _AWAY_!"

There was a rippling affect, and the room around them seemed to vibrate with the aggression. Mason and the other boys held out their arms to catch their balance before they would have fallen.

"He _is_ a witch!" Rubin shouted.

"Just like his mother!" Haider added.

"_LEAVE_!"

Mason pushed his friends. "Come on, it's not worth it. Later, fatty." Mason shoved his friends out the door, and the moment they were three, all three took off running.

"That was awesome, Steven!" Connie ran forward and embraced Steven from behind. The pink that came to Steven's face was for a completely different reason.

"Thanks Connie."

**Notice: Though Sabina has the same name coined for the Mystery Girl, they are not the same character. She is an OC of mine on the same wavelength as the three bullies; she will not play a major part in the story, but may help forward some future plotlines. There will be many characters like this, most of which will not play particularly major roles, but will help to further the story.**

**In the next chapter, we will meet the one exception to this; she won't be as important as the main characters, but will still play a pretty major role in the overall story line. As I have stated before, you are free to suggest your own OC's have a place in the story; while they will not be having any major roles, i can most definitely give them a minor role in a plotline, or else a simple guest star appearance, with credit for you at the top of course!**


	24. Into the temple

Steven missed Amethyst.

In the past, there had been times where Amethyst would go away for days at a times; sometimes with the other gems, other times alone. But she wasn't away from home, she was just in her room, and she hadn't come out since Christmas. Steven knew she was probably trying to avoid her scolding, a punishment Garnet had foregone in the effort to keep the spirit of one of Steven's favorite holidays. Now Steven was missing her more than ever. He had even stayed up late into the night for the past few nights to try and catch her sneaking out to steal a midnight snack, but she never did.

His lack of sleep begun to catch up to him, but he didn't complain when Pearl had offered to make him dinner; she had been doing a lot of _'offering'_ since Steven's experiment. She placed the mozzarella sticks in front of Steven with a bright smile on her face and a glimmer in her eyes.

"Here you go Steven! Just how you like it!"

"Thanks Pearl." Steven said, "Can you get me some water too, please?"

"Of course Steven!" Pearl hurried to do as Steven asked.

"Thank you!" Steven yawned, and accepted the water Pearl offered to him, "If there's any left over mozzarella sticks, can you bring some to Amethyst? I haven't seen her in a while..."

Pearl's smile faded. "Steven, these are meant for you, not her."

"I know, but... I think she's upset or something cause she hasn't come out of her room in two weeks."

"It's been three weeks, Steven." Pearl corrected, "And she isn't coming out because she doesn't want us to have a _very_ important talk with her, and she's avoiding the inevitable."

"Well I miss her." Steven whimpered. "Have you seen her?"

"No I haven't." Pearl said, "And there no reason I should have. Her room is on the bottom floor, and mine is on the very top!" Pearl seemed proud, "And it's like that for a reason."

"So, are there like, stairs, or?"

"More like... an evevator." Pearl said, "All of our rooms were connected once, because Rose wanted us all to be together. When she left us, things changed. Garnet has access to all of our room, as the leader, but felt it was necessary to... limit the rest of us. We can all go to Garnet's room, Garnet can come to all of ours. I can't go to Spinel's or Amethyst's, but I do have access to your mother's room for... memories sake. Spinel can go to Amethyst's room, and Rose's room too, but Amethyst can only go to Spinel's and Garnet's."

Steven tilted his head. "Why?"

"Garnet doesn't trust Amethyst in Rose's room, and she doesn't trust me and Spinel to have access to each other's rooms, and for good reasons too. There are creatures in there I would rather not _associate_ myself with."

"Why doesn't Garnet just go to Amethyst's room to talk to her?"

"Garnet has it in her mind that we should wait until Amethyst is _willing_ to talk, and not force her into it. Plus, I'm not even sure Garnet would be able to _find_ Amethyst in all that garbage!"

Steven pouted.

"Oh, don't be sad Steven!" Pearl said, "This isn't the first time Amethyst has done this! She'll get over it eventually, and you'll see her before you know it!"

"But I want to see her now!" Steven whimpered.

"Oh, Steven..." Pearl sighed, "I suppose I _could_ ask Garnet to leave a few of the mozzarella sticks in her room with a note... but Amethyst might eat the note too... and I doubt Garnet would let me go anyway."

"Maybe I can go!" Steven suggested.

Pearl scoffed. "Please, Steven! If Garnet won't let me go in there, why would she let _you_?"

Steven smirked. "Garnet _can't_ say no to me!"

Pearl frowned, and put her hands to her face. "I don't know, Steven..."

"Please?" Steven begged, pressing his hands together and looking up at Pearl.

"Steven..."

"Pleeease?"

"Ugh! Fine! We can at least ask her. But eat first! Your foods getting cold!"

"Thanks Pearl!"

Steven ate as fast as he could manage without being sick. The thought of seeing Amethyst made it hard to think of anything else, and though he knew Pearl's food was always delicious, he barely tasted the mozzarella sticks and sauce through his thoughts. Within ten minutes, he had cleared the plate and emptied his cup. He showed the empty dishes to Pearl.

"All done!" He said through his mouthful.

"_Steven_!" Pearl gave him a gentle swat on the head, "Swallow first!"

Steven swallowed. "All done!"

"Good." Pearl smiled, and took the plates from Steven. "I'm just going to go wash these, and then we can head down to Garnet's room."

Steven smiled wide. He soon grew impatient waiting for Pearl to finish her washing and scrutinizing the two dishes, taking almost twice as long as it had taken Steven to clear them in the first place.

"Come on, Pearl!" Steven urged.

"You want clean dishes, don't you Steven?" Pearl called over her shoulder, "Be patient."

Steven huffed but waited. Another few minutes, and the dishes were finally up to Pearl's standards. She dried her hands on a nearby towel, then loaded up a plate with a few leftover mozzarella sticks, handing them over to Steven.

"Okay, Steven." She said finally. "Let us go."

Steven was way ahead of her, already waiting at the door as Pearl approached and ignited her gem like a key to the lock. Steven made an attempt to rush in, but Pearl seized him by his arm. He looked to her with an innocent grin, and Pearl rolled her eyes.

"Stay by me, Steven." Pearl cooed, "This is your first time in my room after all."

Steven nodded quickly. Pearl lead him inside, and at first all Steven saw was blackness. Dark, gloomy blackness. Then his eyes began to adjust to the fog of dim white light that steamed off the floor. The sounds of his home turned into the sound of running water, and Steven looked down at his feet to see the solid water beneath them swimming with sea life.

"Woah..."

Pearl pulled on Steven gently, urging him forward. Steven let himself be guided deeper into the smoky white, and as his eyes searched for more items of wonder, the room around him seemed slightly clearer.

There were three pillars of solid water, and he and Pearl were on the middle one; three bridges, also made of water, connected the three in a triangle. On the pillar to the left, an armory of sharpened weapons rested on display. Steven couldn't even begin to identify them beyond the simple sword, spear, and other strange sharpened or blunt instrument. On the right, the same set up except with artifacts. Most of them were surrounded by a protected gleam of white light that, while they didn't block the beauty of the items within, made it clear nothing was getting past them. On the center pillar, the one Steven and Pearl were on, there was a small table with a single chair on it (a perfect setup for the tea pot and cups that rested on it in a neat fashion) and a water bed made of pure water.

"Wow!" Steven said, "Your room looks _so_ cool!"

Pearl blushed. "It's actually one of the more tame rooms if I'm being honest." She dismissed, "You should see Garnet's! Oh, well, I suppose you're going to, haha."

"Only one chair?" Steven observed.

"Well, I don't get very many visitors." Pearl admitted, "And I like my alone time..."

"Oh." Steven could feel the falsity resonating from Pearl, but didn't bring attention to it. He looked around the room. "So can you control water, or?"

"I'm no Lapis." Pearl said, "But I _can_ manipulate light; that's what keeping the water in, and causing the fog." Pearl summoned a small, glowing version of herself in her hand. "Just light."

"Do me!" Steven cheered.

Pearl manipulated the light in her hand to form a dancing Steven.

"Yay!"

"Hold out your hands."

Steven did as Pearl said. The light-version of him leaped from Pearl's hands to Steven's, and began to dance around. It felt light; lighter than light, like nothing was even there. Then his tiny figure faded, and the white pooled out from his hand and back down into the water.

"Now, Steven." Pearl said, "It's time I send you down to Garnet. You can explain everything to her, right?"

"Um. Yeah!" Steven said.

"Good." Pearl closed her eye and hummed as a door of white appeared out of thin air, with the inscription of a gauntlet carved into it. "This will take you straight to Garnet's room and, _preferably_, straight to Garnet." She gave a nervous laugh.

"Okay!" Steven cheered, "Then she can take me to Amethyst and I can give her these!" Steven held up the tempting plate.

Pearl nodded. "And you tell Amethyst to send you straight back up here to Garnet."

"Yes Pearl!"

Pearl opened the door for him, and Steven stepped into a pure white. To his left, white emptiness, and to his right the same. Above and below too; he wasn't even sure what he was standing on, and if he didn't know any better he'd say it _was_ nothingness.

"Hello Steven."

Steven flinched, looked around and realized the emptiness wasn't quite so empty. He saw a speck in the distance, but could have sworn the voice was right beside him. In his head, almost.

"It's okay, Steven." Garnet's voice returned all around him. "Sound travels differently in here. Come to me."

"Okay" Steven said, still looking around as he ventured toward the speck in the distance, "I wanted to ask if you could send me to Amethyst."

"I know." Garnet's voice said.

"Your room's strange." Steven said, "And kinda cold."

"I like it. I'm alone with my thoughts most of the time."

Steven finally got close to her. "Do you... think better like... that?"

Garnet was balanced perfectly on her head, her legs and arms crossed and her visors somehow still stuck to her face.

"Yes." She said simply. "Those are for Amethyst."

"Yeah!" Steven said, looking down at the plate, "Can you take me to her room?"

Garnet considered it. "No. But I can take you to Spinel's."

"Huh? But... Pearl said you could access any room you wanted."

By some strange force, Garnet was able to throw herself into the air, spinning around as she fell and eventually landing straight back down on her feet. She walked away the moment she touched the nonexistent ground. "I can."

"Then... why do I have to go to Spinel's room first?"

Garnet didn't respond. She waved her hand and a pink door materialized out of the endless white, with the carving of a hammer on it. Garnet opened it for him.

"Spinel is inside."

"Okay... Thanks Garnet!"

Steven stepped from the white of Garnet's room into an open, grassy field.

The room itself was pleasantly warm, especially when compared to the cold chill he still felt from Garnet's and Pearl. A deep, earthy scent surrounded him and so did birdsong that came from the trees. Actual trees, with life filling their branches; a few of them scattered at Steven's abrupt approach, but most of them barely even acknowledged his presence.

"Woah."

Steven gaze shifted above the tree tops to an open sky, a few flying birds the only thing obscuring the sun. Then he down at his feet to see a few of the smaller creatures working on the forest floor; squirrels stuffing their cheeks, mice scampering for cover, tortiouses continuing their slow march to whatever destination they had in their mind.

"Aww, cute!"

"Steven?"

Steven would recognize that voice anywhere. "Spinel!"

The pink gem stepped out from the forest, her hair a mess even more than usual. Sticks and leaves stuck out from her pigtails, and she was covered head to toe in mud and tree sap.

"What are you doing here?"

A chameleon crawled out from behind her head, and perched there on her shoulder.

"Aw, you have a lizard!"

The chameleon drew itself up, parting its mouth slightly to show it's tongue.

"A cranky one, too." Spinel said, "You put that tongue away, mister!"

The chameleon listened, and was rewarded with a stroke from Spinel.

"Good boy!" Spinel took the chameleon in her hand, "Wanna hold him?"

"Um." Steven looked down at the plate in his hands, and then back up at Spinel.

"Oh." Spinel stretched out her free hand to take the plate from Steven, then offered the chameleon. Steven took it gladly.

"Aww he's so cute!" Steven said, "And cold."

Spinel took the lizard back. "It's about time to put him back in his terrarium. Come on."

Spinel returned Steven's plate and lead him down the trail and deeper into the woods.

"I like your room." Steven said, "Are we really outside?"

"No, it's just an illusion. The sky's on a timer."

"Oh, that make's more sense."

"Why are you here anyway?" Spinel asked, pushing aside a fern and leading Steven away from the dirt path.

"I wanted to bring these to Amethyst, so Pearl sent me to Garnet, and Garnet sent me to you. You haven't seen Amethyst have you?"

Spinel hummed. "Not really. She's probably sleeping right now."

"Well I still want to leave these for her." Steven said. "She likes to eat too."

Spinel nodded her agreement. A few more twists and turns later, and they arrived to a grand tree.

The tree stretched up higher than all the ones surrounding it, with vines hanging over a doorway that lead inside of the trunk. Spinel parted the vines, and let Steven inside first.

The room was compact, the cluttering offering such a unique experience from the neat organization of Pearl's room and the vast emptiness of Garnet's. A bed of leaves and feathers that more resembled a nest than anything else. There were a few smaller versions of the bed scattered around, a few of them occupied by various creatures basking under heat lamps. Among the nests, a few artifacts were littered around the walls and the floor with no true order to them that Steven could see.

"This is your room?" Steven asked.

"It's my room in my room!" Spinel said, "Here you go."

Spinel gently placed the chameleon under the heat lamp, and the lizard immediately settled into the warming glow.

"I like your room, Spinel..." Steven said slowly, "But I really came in here to see Amethyst."

"Oh. Right." Spinel stuck out her tongue and reached into her gem, producing a small slip of paper and handing it over to Steven. "You'll need this."

Steven unfolded the small slip, and quickly realized it wasn't so small when its folds seemed to keep coming with no end in sight. By the time it finally did reach the end, more than half of it dragged on the floor.

"It's a map of Amethyst's room." Spinel explained.

"Her room's _huge_!" Steven glanced over the countless intercrossing tunnels and pathways marked down in green and yellow and red; he immediately associated them with good, dangerous, and bad.

"Well, she's had thousands of years to build it up." Spinel took the map back and summoned a pen to mark a spot on it. "This is where you'll come out; so just follow the tunnels to her main chamber; she spends most of her time there." She pointed out a room slightly larger than the rest.

Steven nodded and took the paper back. Spinel waved her hand, and just as Pearl and Garnet had summoned doors, so too did Spinel; it was a purple door, marked with a whip.

"Good luck!"

Steven took one last, deep breath of the air in Spinel's room before stepping through the doorway into Amethyst's. Immediately, the scent of wood and sap was gone, replaced with decay and rot that surrounded him on all sides and nearly made him lose the lunch he had just eaten. Dirt turned to mush under his feet, and he didn't even want to think about the greenish-yellow mush he was standing in. He turned back around to give one final farewell to Spinel, but found the door gone. In its place, a hedge that climbed so high it was lost in the white mist that covered the ceiling, far past where Steven could see.

The air was putrid, and when he took a step there was a squelching sound as he pried his feet free of the mush and into even more of the same.

"Amethyst lives here?" He spoke to himself. He had to squint his eyes through the dim light to find where Spinel had marked him down on the map, and traced his eyes along the path he was sure would lead to Amethyst. "No wonder Pearl didn't want to come down here."

A few more steps and he came to the first mound of garbage. A tower of unorganized trash looming dangerously overhead in a precarious pile, impossibly balanced and somehow stable. Some loosened elements from the pile were scattered in the puddles all around his feet; milk cartons dating all the way back to the 18th century, shattered and broken toys forgotten among all the artifacts. Cushions and pillows and pictures dulled with time; pointed metal and torn blankets and tarps ripped beyond repair. Everything Steven could ever think of, lining the walls as he entered the first tunnel and surrounded him on all sides.

The scent was sickeningly strong, and even as the minutes wore on it seemed to get worse and not better. He'd come to tunnels where he'd have to get on his hands and knees to crawl through the gray water, working with a great effort to keep the meal and the map safe. Constricting paths that made it nearly impossible to move, and others that opened up into grand, open spaces that seemed to have their own ecosystem growing among all the chaos; he was almost certain he had seen a few animals skittering around the trash, and some plants growing through the cracks.

Ten minutes into the excursion, Steven was already beginning to go consider going back; he was wet and sticky and felt gross. The stench clung to his hair and to his clothes and weighed him down as they sank into him and refused to let go. Looking at the map, he wasn't even sure he could find the way back; he felt lost. Every time he'd think he'd recognize some part of the map, he'd soon realize he was mistaken and he would have to start all the way back at the beginning again. He twisted the paper, trying to get a better angle and a new view of the path, but that didn't help either, and so he just kept going.

The more he walked, the more he got lost; the more lost he got, the faster he walked. The faster he walker, the more frantic he became. The walls seemed to be closing in, and the air constricted all around him in a suffocating fashion until he was practically holding his breath. It was like a blessing when the darkness opened up to a dim lantern light and a large, open room. The ceiling stretched high above him, curving into a dome with expertly organized disorganization. The floor was lined with stained carpet that, while not in the least bit appealing, he much preferred over the wet puddles he had traversed to get there.

Multiple piles of pillows and blankets were scattered around, as well as stuffed animals, toys, clothing of all sizes; mattresses and bed frames too; every type of comfort item Steven could think of. It didn't smell as bad as the rest of the tunnels did either; if he didn't know any better, he'd say it actually carried the faintest scent of sugar maple. In one corner, there was a high, towering mountain of pillows, and in another a small wooden dresser that seemed oddly out of place. A few strategically placed lanterns lit the area perfectly even, so that there were no dark corners, but instead a constant, even light. Steven noticed one dimmed, unlike the others, and that's when he made the discovery of an oddly shaped lump laying under a large purple comforter. Amethyst!

Steven rolled the map up and stuck it under his armpit, shifting his grip on the present and running over to the lump.

"Amethyst! Amethyst, I brought you something!"

The bump stirred at the voice as it echoed all around them. Steven tried to follow the echo in his awe, but the moment his double voice faded away, his true reason for being for being there returned to him.

"_Amethyst_! Get up!"

Steven pulled the blanket off of Amethyst with a grin, but that grin quickly faded when he realized it _wasn't_ Amethyst.


	25. The girl in the room

Steven fell backward, and so too did the green-and-red gem he came to face instead of the amethyst he had been searching for. A green gem with soft features, wearing a green dress and a red ribbon tied around her middle that flowed down her back in cascades, like a waterfall. The center of the ribbon was parted ever so slightly to reveal a tinted green gemstone. A red headscarf the same color as the ribbon covered her hair and the sides of her face, drapping across her chest and down past her stomach, stopping just before her armlength. Her eyes were a burning crimson, and winged eyeliner the shade of vermillion streaked across her face.

The stranger gem tumbled back against the nearest pile of garbage, her eyes in a frenzy searching around and her chest with each struggled breath she took.

"Who are you?" Steven asked.

He could feel the fear and confusion radiating off of her in magnitudes that amplified his own fear and confusion. Desperatly searching around for some sort of escape.

Steven closed his eyes and forced the emotion down. "Are you okay?"

The gem squeezed her eyes shut tight. "_No_!"

Steven reached a gentle hand toward her. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

"No!" She flinched away, "No!"

Her voice was heavy and strained, filled with the same confusion from before.

"Do you understand me?" Steven asked slowly, lowering his hand.

"No!" The gem blinked, "Yes! Mmm No no..." She put her head in her hands and gave a muffled whine.

"I'm gonna to take that as a no." Steven looked down at his forsaken gift for Amethyst. "Oh..."

The stranger gem tilted her head. "Sad?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Good!"

Steven blinked. "Sorry?"

"Good!" The green gem stood, "Good!" She kneeled down in the carpet and started to pick up the scattered food. She held them out to Steven with a smile. "Good! Yes?"

Steven took them and put them back on the plate. "Thank you."

Steven flinched at a sudden disturbance to his side and turned to look; the green-and-red gem looked too, but not affected by the sudden scare like Steven was. Instead, she seemed the exact opposite: expectant and happy. It didn't take Steven long to locate the movement that had knocked into the trash and caused the sound. He saw Amethyst looked down and shaking her foot to dislodge a large clump of mysterious muck.

"Ugh. Sorry, I had to take the long way; one of the tunnels collapsed and..." Amethyst looked up casually, and then her words stopped though her mouth continued to move soundlessly.

"Ametist! Desert pronounced her name wrong, but the excitement dripping into her voice was unmistakable. She glided soundlessly over to Amethyst and hugged her tight, though Amethyst barely reacted to the embrace; she was far too busy gawking at Steven.

Steven waved innocently. "Hi Amethyst!"

The gem ducked behind Amethyst, crouching down since she was a head taller, and rested her head on Amethyst's shoulder with a gentle purr.

"Steven?"

Steven nodded. "I brought you some food."

The purple gem's eyes lit up. "_Ooohh_ snacks!" She ran forward, pulling out of the gems hug and took the mozzarella sticks from Steven, shoving both them and the plate down her throat. "Mmm!"

The other gem quickly joined Amethyst once more, resuming her embrace from behind.

"So..." Steven began slowly, "Who's... she?"

Amethyst's momentary bliss of chewing quickly passed, and she swallowed. Looking back at the cuddling gem, she said, "A friend..."

"I recognize her gem..." Steven said, "She's the Desert Glass, isn't she?"

Amethyst averted her navy eyes and bit her bottom lip. "I uh. Call her Sandy; it's simpler."

"Sandy..." Steven repeated, then quickly added, "I like it! But... she doesn't seem to speak so great."

"She doesn't know much yet." Amethyst admitted, "I've been trying to teach her, but I'm no mentor."

Amethyst sat down on a blanket, and Sandy was quick to follow her like a shadow; before Amethyst could even settle, Sandy had cuddled up to her front and sat on her lap, wrapping her legs around the purple gems sides and wrapping her arms around Amethyst's chest. Amethyst pulled her arms around Sandy, using one hand to pat her on the back and the other to wave Steven down. Steven sat as Amethyst told him to.

"Yay! Story time!"

* * *

Amethyst was anxious. She had stayed by Steven's side for nearly ten minutes after bringing him home. The worry in her was strong for the boy she cared for, but there was another rivaling emotion that threatened to, and eventually did, take hold, and after that ten minute threshold she couldn't hold it back anymore. Even as Greg and Garnet and Pearl and Spinel stayed at Steven's bed side, Amethyst slinked away into her room. She didn't care what they thought about it; they called it ditching, but truly it wasn't. Not to her at least. Despite that, strong feelings of guilt surged in her and they were only amplified by the dark, furious eyes of Pearl and the disappointed expression of Garnet. Amethyst couldn't even bring herself to look at the other two, especially not Greg. She would have to do something special for him for Christmas, to try and mend what little friendship they had left.

The darkness of Amethyst's room was enough for anyone to get lost in; anyone but her. She could navigate the tunnels and passages and crawlspaces built up over four thousand years of stockpiling every scrap she could get her hands on. She remembered the time when her room was empty apart from a single blanket in the center. Back when Obsidian's temple was new, and she was new, and everything else was new. The first artifacts had been other blankets, and then pillows. Then a mattress or two or three or four, and then couches and chairs and tables and stools. Soon, everything she had in life went into that room and the earliest versions of her maze came into existence. Even now, so many years after the fact, she still knew where everything was even if there wasn't a system to keep them in place.

She knew she was a bobby pin in one of the pockets of a leather jacket, laying across a chair and under a pile of other similar jackets. She knew there was a pile of rubber bands in a small room filled with other stretchy, sticky toys and the little plastic balls they came in. She knew there was red pillow with a green gem on top of a pile of other pillows, in her main sleeping chambers where she spent most of her time. She knew that pillow was her good luck charm, and every time she slept with it she was sure to have the most pleasant dreams a gem could wish for. Dreams of cotton candy fields and windy days and mounds of treasures far beyond anything she could ever imagine. And now, after witnessing what she did, she knew the pillow was even more special than she gave it credit for.

Amethyst crawled on all fours through the tunnels, and when they began to narrow and she knew exactly where she was, she turned into a rat to take her shortcuts to get to her room faster. She lit the lanterns once she was there, and felt a strange feeling wash over her as she fixed her eyes on the prize at the top of the pile. She just had to be sure, she had to at least check! At worst, she may destroy the one thing blessing her with good dreams. At best...

Amethyst turned back into herself and had to psyche herself up before she dared to climb the hazardous tower of soft pillows. She took the special one from the top and walked over to the other side of the mound to slide down it like it was skiing on a mountain, and when she landed at the bottom she made sure to keep the special pillow out of harms way. She hugged it tight to her chest, buried her face in its cushion, and sighed.

"_Please_ work."

She flipped the pillow over to look at the gem on the other side. It glimmered as if it were calling to her, begging her to free it like Steven freed Lapis. Amethyst grabbed a hold of the gemstone and pulled. It was woven tightly into the frabic, almost impossible to remove, but then again she had thought the same when she witnessed Steven pulling Lapis' gem free of the mirror. This was no different. It _couldn't_ be.

_It's okay, I'm going to help you..._

_Help... have to help..._

The thought was in her own head, but it wasn't her own thought. It was interjecting and jarring enough to clear her own mind for seconds before her thoughts returned to her just in time for her to witness what was happening around her. Through the tunnels and from the very walls themselves, sand started to filter into the room, called by the pulsating green glow of the Desert Glass gemstone. Not just sand, she quickly noticed, but glass too: broken and shattered fractures, or else full panes. Artififacts of glass, broken or whole. All filtering the same, and rising into a sandy tide. The peices that were too big shattered into a thousand fractures to join the help.

They swarmed around Amethyst in a sand storm, entrapping her and surrounding her with a shining wall of whirlwinds. Sand gathered at her feet, crawling up the length of her frame and joining her in the escape attempt of their master. The sand grabbed at the gemstone as Amethyst did and started to pull as she did the same. The rising walls closing in around her were enough to make anyone feel constricted and trapped, but Amethyst tried to push that feeling down. Almost the same thing has happened with Steven, right before...

The gem came loose. With the momentum Amethyst was pulling it, it was practically launched into the air and it started to fall just as quick. Amethyst was ready, there to catch it before it could take any damage, but the gemstone had a mind of its own. Before it could land safely in her hands, the gem froze midair and began to rise. Higher and higher and higher as red and green light ripped around it and began to take form. A dress, a head covering. Features obscured by various layers of cloth made of light. Red eyes opened, red lips parted. Perfectly forming, down to the last detail, before coming to drift down into Amethyst's waiting arms.

For a moment, the gem was flawless in her calmness, but then the moment passed and fear gripped her tighter than the force that had freed her. Panic flashed in her eyes, and she fell to the ground in a heap, her chest heaving with each frenzied breath she took.

"Hey, hey! It's okay!" Amethyst tried to reach toward her, but was quickly stopped by a wall of glass summoned between them. She lowered her hand. "I'm Amethyst."

The Desert Glass momentarily lowered her defenses to look over Amethyst. She didn't say anything, didn't move except to look around at the surroundings and then right back to Amethyst. Amethyst held up her hands in surrender and backed up a few paces.

"Can you understand me?"

She didn't respond but, encouraged by the space given to her, was confident enough to stand. She held her arms to her chest and whimpered, tilting her head and blinking slowly.

"Geeze. How long were you in that pillow?" Amethyst realized seconds later she wouldn't get a response. "Listen, here." Amethyst backtracked to one of her corners, grabbing as many pillows and blankets that she could comfortably carry. "This is for you, okay?"

She tried to hand the comfort items over to Desert, but the glass only stared at her, and then down at the comfort items, and back up to her.

"Like this." Amethyst dropped everything on the ground, and then fell along with them, begining to organize them into a nest. She stood away to give the other gem more space to explore it, but the gem continued to only stare. Amethyst narrowed her eyes. "Seriously? Ugh, don't you know anything?"

Desert flinched at Amethyst's tone and covered her head. Though the words were unknown to her, the matter of speaking of clear and she cowered under it. Amethyst was quick to correct herself.

"Hey, hey, sorry." She went to reach for the green gem, then froze and pulled her hand back. "Here, I'll show you."

Amethyst walked over to the opposite side of the room, into one of her own nests; it was perfect, flattened down from hundreds of years of sleeping in that same place, carrying that familiar scent that lulled her to sleep every time she settled in it. Amethyst cralwed into it on all fours and settled into the blankets, sighing her relief as she closed her eyes and rested her head on her arms. A few seconds later, she opened one of her eyes.

The Desert Glass had followed her lead, down on all fours and crawling into the nest Amethyst had just assembled for her. She closed her eyes as Amethyst had, rested her head in her arms, and sighed that same sigh.

For the next few days, Amethyst did everything she could to earn Desert Glass' trust. She showed her all the wonders gathered over the years, talking about them in great detail (at least, great by Amethyst's standards) and, despite the fact that Desert obviously didn't understand a word of it, she seemed glad to listen. It didn't take long for her to stop flinching every time Amethyst made a motion, or spoke, or reached toward her. Eventually, _she_ was the one reaching. Amethyst took to calling her Sandy. It was simpler, and Sandy seemed to like it better anyway. A week into the endeavor, Amethyst woke in the middle night, set on readjusting herself, but when she turned to do just that, she was met with a blockade.

When she opened her eyes, she was faced with green and red cloth, and matching skin. Sandy was fast asleep, a skill she quickly adapted to after Amethyst showed her the techniques, her body pressed against her companions and her head buried in the pillows they shared; though she had messed up the system Amethyst had grown so used to, this new one seemed somehow better. Amethyst let out a sigh, moved herself closer to the prescence beside her, and settled back into her slumber.

The next day, Amethyst started to give her lessons. She'd hold up an item, whatever was closest and within her reach, and show it to Sandy. Repeating it's name over and over, pointing to it, until Sandy understood and started to do the same. She was a quick learner, and soon she was speaking on her own, even without Amethyst's guidance. Once she knew enough, and could understand what Amethyst was saying even if she couldn't speak it herself, Amethyst told her,

"You can't ever leave this room, okay? Like, ever! If the others saw you..."

Amethyst could never quite finish that sentence, even after she repeated it day after day. Sandy soon grew to listen to her, and fear going outside. She even tried to stop Amethyst from leaving, but fear turned to confusion when she started to notice Amethyst leaving her, day after day, without that same fear that was instilled in Sandy. Amethyst always brushed her off.

"Eh, I'm brave like that." She said one day.

"It's fine, I can handle myself." She said on another.

"I've been doing this for four thousand years!" She'd said on a third.

Day after day, she'd make excuse after excuse. Sandy listened to them all, drank in every pardon given to her, but always asked the same question: "Why?"

Amethyst had gone out that day to do some more shopping; sure, she had taken some (or possibly most) of the money from Greg, but that didn't matter. This was important, and she was going to replace the money before they even realized it was gone, like she had done any time she needed something and didn't have the patience to find some random to give it to her. This time it wasn't for her; it was for Sandy. Everything except the Chinese, that was for her. Amethyst held up the white takeout container.

"Eh, I got hungry. These are for you."

Amethyst tossed the bag to Sandy, who was quick to open it and pull out a few picture books and Where's Waldo (her favorite, Amethyst quickly learned). Her eyes lit up and she hugged the books.

"Thank!" She squeaked.

"Eh, no prob." Amethyst walked quickly past her and plopped down on the nearest blanket. She began to eat her food.

"Why?"

"Hm?" Amethyst swallowed her noodle and looked up to face Sandy.

"Why?" Sandy repeated, pointing to the food.

"Uh. I like to eat, I guess."

She sat close to Amethyst; almost too close. "Why?"

"Oh God, you're just like Steven when he was younger. Um. Because it's... _filling_? It tastes good, and I like to... wait, don't!"

Sandy had taken one of the noodles and put it in her mouth, only for it to slide right back out and fall to the ground. She tilted her head and whimpered.

"You gotta _chew_ it." Amethyst picked up the dropped noodle and ate it, being sure Sandy saw her chewing motion, "But uh, you can't exactly eat without shapeshifting. You can shapeshift, right?"

Sandy tilted her head.

"Uh. This!" Amethyst stretched out her arm and waved.

"Oh. Yes." Sandy nodded. "Yes."

"Sweet!" Amethyst stood up. "Uh. I'll go get a diagram. Hold on."

Amethyst dropped her noodles and knew exactly where she would find what she needed. She had five of the diagrams she had in mind, but knew how to make her way to the nearest one in just under a minute. She picked it up and made sure it was exactly what she wanted before she returned back to find Sandy still doing her best to eat the takeout.

"Nuh uh." Amethyst said, taking the food and then laying the diagram out on the ground, "Look at this. You gotta have, like, all of this stuff." Amethyst traced her finger from the mouth, down the throat, through the stomach and intestines and then back out again.

Sandy blinked. "It... come back out?"

Amethyst grinned. "Oh yeah."

She quickly explained the whole process as simply as she could, while the desert glass listened expectantly, not speaking, or even blinking for that matter.

"Make sense?" Amethyst asked after she summed everything up.

Sandy stuck out her tongue. "Ew." Then she laughed, and Amethyst laughed too.

"Yeah. We'll deal with that when we get to it, but for now..." Amethyst shoved the food toward her friend, "Try some!"

Sandy closed her eyes for a long minute before she finally grabbed what was offered to her and grabbed a noodle, chewing it as Amethyst had showed her. After she chewed, she looked to Amethyst for further instruction.

"Now swallow." Amethyst said; she took a peice, chewing and swallowing as an example for Sandy.

Sandy nodded and did as Amethyst did. She let out a big breath afterward.

"So?" Amethyst prompted.

Sandy licked her lips. "_Good_!"

"Great!"

They sat together, eating for a long time; much longer than Amethyst was used to. She tried to be slow, to give Sandy enough time to get a share, even if it was the smallest bit. She hadn't eaten much of anything since her first attempt, instead picking out the small bits of vegetables and chewing them for minutes on end. Eventually, Amethyst started to help her sort through them to make the whole process go faster.

The next day, Amethyst went out again. There wasn't much of Greg's money left, and she had to replace it. She left in the night to take advantage of the drunks and druggies wandering the streets in search of something quick. Before dawn, she had gotten more than enough to replace what she took, for some left over, and to buy something for Sandy. She used some of the money to get some milk for Steven; she knew they must have been running low by now. It wasn't hard to notice patterns when it came to Steven, the only one on more than a schedule than him was Pearl. He would go to sleep and wake up at the same time, eat at the same times (oftentimes even the same meal), and be out for almost the same time every day. She got him regular milk, and chocolate milk as a treat; mostly because she had her eyes on a few scraps that remained in the fridge and thought it would be a fair trade.

She walked slowly into the beach house. Steven would be out by now, and the other gems hadn't let Steven out of their sight since the Lapis incident. They would all be out, and she had plenty of time to do what she needed to do and get back to Sandy. She put both the milks inside and reached for what was left of the packaged ham, dropping it into the bag along with the food she had gotten for Sandy. She reached again to get some cheese, not all of it but just a few slices.

"What are you doing?!"

Amethyst startled at Pearl's shriek and banged her head on the shelf inside the fridge in her haste to escape. "Geeze! Don't do that Pearl!" She rubbed her head.

"Are you stealing food?!" Pearl demanded.

"What? No!" Amethyst lied.

"I'm stocking the fridge, man!"

"If you're stocking the fridge, why are you putting stuff in the bag?" Spinel pointed out.

Amethyst blinked. "Alright, you caught me." She closed the fridge door with her butt. "I'm just getting a midday snack. Don't worry, it's spoiled."

"If it's spoiled, why is it in the fridge?" Pearl growled through gritted teeth.

"I dunno, you tell me Pearl." Amethyst smirked, "You're supposed to be the cleaning lady."

"It's not spoiled! Nothing ever spoils here!" Pearl argued.

"Yeah. 'cept you. You're way past your 'best by' date."

Pearl gasped. "You can't do that!" Pearl appealed to the leader, "Garnet!"

Garnet raised a hand. "Amethyst, give me the bag."

"What?" Amethyst held the bag protectively against her chest, "No! Get your own!"

Garnet advanced on Amethyst, but Steven was faster to block her. "Garnet, no! I don't mind!"

"That food is meant to feed Steven." Garnet said.

"It's fine!" Steven said, "I have donuts and fry bits!"

"You need actual food." Garnet replied, "Something filling, which you can't have if Amethyst keeps pillaging the fridge every chance she gets."

"She like's to eat too!" Steven defended.

"She likes to eat, but she doesn't need to eat. You do."

"Amethyst, it's okay." Steven turned to look at her, "Just go."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Amethyst was off in a flash, disappearing into the temple and slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

"_That's_ why you've been acting so weird!" Steven said, "And I haven't seen you in like, _forever_!"

"Eh, duty calls, and stuff." Amethyst said. "And just so you know, I didn't eat the tea bag from Pearl's gift; I may have _zero_ self control, but that was all Sandy."

Sandy laughed and looked away.

"She gets anxious when she's alone, and she stress eats." Amethyst said. "Hey, I get it; foods _great_!"

Steven chuckled, but then another question came to him and he began to fiddle around with his hands. "But... why not tell the gems?"

Amethyst got suddenly serious. "Steven, _no_. You can't _ever_ tell them."

Steven whimpered. "Why not?"

"Do I need to remind you what happened with Lapis? They were going to _bubble_ her! Take her from one prison and trap her in another!"

"They were just worried about me." Steven defended.

"You don't know everything, Steven. _I_ don't know everything! But I do know if you would have given them that mirror, the Lapis you set free would have _never_ seen the light of day. She would have been locked away in some bubble in the Burning Room! You think they'd show any more sympathy toward Sandy? They wanted to bubble and trap her since the beginning, and I doubt they're suddenly gonna change their minds cause she's, like, alive now."

Steven stood up. He had never felt such an energy from Amethyst; Amethyst always felt cool and flowing, not like Garnet, but close. This feeling of cold electricity was something he'd expect from Pearl, or maybe even Spinel if the situation was right. Amethyst quickly returned to her cool demeanor.

"I don't care about many things, Steven, but this is one of them. Garnet and Pearl keep _so_ many secrets from us. Don't you wanna know what it's like to be the secret keepers for a change? To know something they don't know? Something they won't ever know?"

"But Garnet knows _everything_..."

"Exactly! Now just think of how great it would feel knowing something she doesn't!"

Steven thought about it. "It... would be cool, I guess."

"It'd be _more_ than _cool_, Steven! It'd be a dream come true!"

Steven began to feel excitement well up inside him. "I've always wanted to live a dream!"

"Well now's your chance, kiddo! Don't blow it on telling the truth! Heck, you can even help with her lessons!"

Steven's building enthusiasm only continued to climb. "_Really_?"

"Yeah! I usually do them at night, since there's less chance of being caught. Spinel sleeps, and Garnet and Pearl do whatever they do. It'll be perfect! And you'll get to spend more time with me! It's a win-win!"

Steven frowned. "That's gonna mess up my sleeping schedule."

Amethyst shrugged. "Hey, I've never had a sleeping schedule and I do just fine. But if you don't want to _help_..."

"No, no, I'll help!" Steven quickly said, "Nighttime's perfect! I'll just go to sleep a little earlier!"

"Great!" Amethyst stood up and patted Steven on the shoulder. Sandy clung to Amethyst's left arm as she raised her right arm and summoned an unmarked door. "Now get the fuck outta my room."

Steven went to do as Amethyst ordered.

"Oh, and remember Steven." Amethyst called as he left, "_Our_ little secret."

* * *

Steven was quick to learn keeping a secret was easier said than done. The moment he saw Pearl, the truth nearly came flooding out, and it only got worse from there when he was faced with keeping that secret from garnet and spinel. After a while, he had managed to convince them to watch cartoons with him so he could focus on anything else other than the thoughts brewing in his own head.

"So..." Pearl said, "they're breakfast foods?"

"Mmhmm. That's Wally Waffle, Sally Sausage, and Petey Pancake."

"And they're sad..." Spinel said, "all the time?"

"Yeah."

Spinel narrowed her eyes. "It's concerning that you like this."

All four looked over at the sound of the temple door opening, to see Amethyst step out. Spinel waved her over, and Amethyst jumped on the bed between Spinel and Steven.

"Hey, we watching Crying Breakfast Friends?" She didn't wait for an answer, "Sweet! I love this episode!"

"Well, it's nice of you to finally join us Amethyst." Pearl growled out.

Amethyst turned up the volume. "Got here just in time too! Almost at the best part!"

Pearl opened her mouth to scold Amethyst's indifference, but Garnet shook her head and that was enough to silence her. Together finally, all five Crystal Gems sat watching Crying Breakfast Friends.


	26. Warp Speed

Steven was struggling, and Amethyst was too. The flowers were nearly twice as big as they were, and the stems were covered in thin, fine thorns that stuck Steven every chance they got. They weren't big enough to draw blood, or to do much more than annoy Steven with a sting any time he had to push one aside. Amethyst had attempted to simply dash through the fields, only to quickly regret her actions and come running back, covered in thorns and wrapped in briars, to follow in the paths left by the rest of the Crystal Gems.

Garnet, at the head of the seperated group, pushed aside the flowers with gauntlet-covered hands; she was the only Crystal gem naturally taller than the surrounding flowers and, as such, everyone was following her lead. Even when Spinel had streched up to rid herself of the bothersome prickles irritating her, she still followed Garnet closely as everyone else did. Steven had long sense been following in the trail left by the three ahead, but even then he still had to push the flowers aside to make way for him and Amethyst.

Pearl squinted one eye as she pushed aside a flower with her spear. "I honestly cannot believe that went so well!"

"Yeah!" Amethyst cheered from behind, "That was kinda sweet when you hit it with your spear and it went bing bong!"

"And the way you were circling around it?" Pearl gave a cheeky smile, "_Almost_ looked like strategy."

Amethyst rushed ahead of Steven to get closer to Pearl, and Steven took the chance to call up to Spinel.

"I'm glad they're getting along again."

"_Mmhm_." Was all Spinel said in response.

A leaf brushed against Steven, and he immediately sneezed in response. That caught Spinel's attenion, and Pearl's too.

"Steven!" Pearl scolded. "You're supposed to sneeze into your antecubital fossa!"

Steven wiped his nose. "My what?"

"Your... this thing!" Pearl pointed to her inner elbow.

"Then why not say inner elbow?" Spinel asked.

"Don't question my methods!"

"Somebody has to."

Steven sneezed again, this time into his _'antecubital fossa'_. Pearl seemed proud.

"Good job Steven!"

"Here, I gotcha." Spinel reached for Steven, but Garnet was faster. "Hey!"

Garnet held Steven securely in one arm. "It's my turn for Steven time."

"Them's the rules." Amethyst shrugged off.

Pearl gasped. "I've never gotten Steven time!"

"And you never will." Spinel said.

Garnet moved Steven onto her shoulders and Steven held onto her, glad to be above the flowers and to give his legs a rest; it felt like they had been walking for hours. Garnet put her gauntlets away in favor of holding Steven's feet to keep him steady, and she continued to push through the flowers without so much as flinching from the thorns. Steven was glad that wasn't him.

Garnet carried him like that the rest of the way to the warp pad, and Steven was grateful. She was gentle picking him off her shoulders and placing him on the warp pad, but in a moments notice Pearl had taken hold of him.

"Hey!" Spinel snapped. "What did I just say, birdie?!"

Pearl gasped. "Do not call me a bird!" She squacked.

Steven laughed. "You do look like a bird."

"And sound like one." Amethyst added.

"And smell like one." Spinel followed up, waving her hand in front of her face.

Pearl blushed a light shade of blue. "Who do you think you are? The keeper of Steven?"

"Well, technicially she is." Amethyst pointed out.

"I... have nothing to say to that." Pearl pulled Steven in front of her, "But I'm taking my Steven time, like it or not."

"Pearl!" Steven squirmed, "I can warp by myself!"

Pearl frowned. "But my Steven time!"

Steven waved Pearl down and whispered in her ear. "We can have tea time later."

The happiness was clear on Pearl's face and in the aura all around her. She stepped to the side and let Steven have his space.

"Garnet, can I warp us back home?" Steven appealed to the leader.

Garnet hummed. "Yes."

Steven grinned, and focused his mind on where he wanted to go. _Home_.

The moment the warp beam acivated, and the world around them began to fade to light, Steven felt a familiar tickle in his nose. His thoughts of home faded to focus on the there and now, and then he started to notice the vaiugest forms of those he loved all around him, there but not. Solid, but liquid. Light and dark and everything contracting all mixed into one sensation.

_I need to sneeze._

His own voice was foreign to him, panicked and searching for help; in his head and at his side, and in front of him and all around the light space that surrounded him.

_Do it at Pearl!_

Steven reconigzed the speaker as Amethyst only by the tone of her words; her voice was just as foreign, if not more so, than his own.

_Steven no! Your fossa!_

That was Pearl, unmistakebly. The warp was proving to last longer when Steven's focus was on something other than his destination, and seconds felt like minutes that in themselves felt like an eternity.

Steven sneezed.

The stream around him immediately warped into a rainbow of color, all swirling and dancing around him until they all abruptly faded to black. The next breath Steven took was a cold one, stinging his lungs and burning his eyes like firey ice. Stars danced in his head, and through the black eternity were streaks of light gliding past in streams of color and magnitudes Steven couldn't begin to comprehend. His eyes were naturally drawn to the blemishes speckling the flawless beams; black specks filling the otherwise pure beams. Things. _Warping_.

Steven was pulled back into the stream, and the next thing he knew he was in his house and Pearl was fussing over him. "Steven! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Steven said; the warp air filling his lungs was a relief he didn't realize he needed. "But I saw something! Something _warping_!"

Pearl straightened up. "That's impossible Steven. Your eyes were just playing tricks on you. You know there's not much oxygen outside the stream."

"No!" Steven argued, "There were a lot of them! All these little black dots in the warp streams!"

"There's nothing out there Steven." Garnet reassured, "There wasn't been for a long time."

"But there was!" Steven turned around to appeal to Spinel and Amethyst, "There was I swear!"

The pink gem and the purple gem wore simular expressions.

"I'm staying outta this." Amethyst raised both hands and backed up.

"They're probably right, Steven..." Spinel admitted, "Being outside the warp can play tricks on your mind, and I've never seen anything but us use the warps."

"That doesn't mean it's not happening!" Steven argued.

"That's... also a good point." Spinel relented.

"No it's not." Garnet followed up. "You're going to upset Steven more than he already is."

"But!"

Garnet hushed him softly and fell to his level. "Let's call it a trick of the eye and nothing more."

Steven sighed. "Okay..."

"Great!" Amethyst said suddenly, "Now that that's settled, bye!"

She made an immediately beline for the temple door and dissapeared inside. That was the cue for the rest of the crystal gems to follow suit; Pearl wandered over to the kitchen, Spinel settled on the couch beside the sleeping form of Greg (he must have had a long day at work) , and Garnet made for the temple just as Amethyst had. Through the window, Steven could see the sun was just now starting to go down. Almost time for dinner.

"I swear Amethyst spends more time in her room than out." Pearl scoffed as she began to pull some designated ingredients.

"Who are you," Spinel mocked, "The keeper of Amethyst?"

* * *

Steven couldn't sleep, but Lion didn't seem to be having any trouble with it. Even though the large predator was still technically banned from the house, no one bothered to enforce that rule, not even Pearl; she was too terrified to get near the big cat to scold him outside.

Steven sighed. "Oh Lion. I can't sleep."

The pink lion flicked his ear and nuzzled deeper into the bed with a heavy sigh.

"I know I saw something! Something was in the warp stream!"

Lion wiped his muzzle.

"I mean, I could call Connie and tell her about it, but I'm pretty sure she's asleep. So it's just you and me buddy."

Steven lifted Lion's head into his lap and ran his fingers through Lion's mane.

"I guess I'm not sleeping tonight..."

* * *

"Wake up Steven!"

Steven woke up suddenly to the voice, visons of dreams of dark figures dancing in his mind. Nightmarish things, advancing on him with nothing but black in their heart and intents malicious and cruel. He swung at the clouded monsters, trying to get them to go away, to leave him alone as his heart raced and his head throbbed.

"_Ow_!"

Steven blinked, and the scene faded from his memory. Darkened figures turned into familiar ones. Spinel and Pearl and Garnet and Amethyst. Pearl was holding her nose and whimpering.

"What?" Steven sat up and tried to make sense of the scene.

Spinel looked at Amethyst, and Amethyst looked at Spinel, and then they both busted out laughing. Even Garnet cracked the faintest of smiles, and that only made the confusion filtering through Steven's mind even worse.

"What happened?" He asked.

Garnet shook her head. "You punched Pearl." She held a plate up high, out of the reach of everyone around her, "So it looks like someone's not getting cookies."

"Is it me...?" Steven asked sheepishly.

"Yes."

Steven sat up and yawned as the terrifying, yet somehow blissful reaches of sleep faded from him. "Sorry Pearl... I guess I just... didn't..."

"Didn't sleep." Garnet finished.

"Yeah." Steven fought hard against the clouds in his mind, "I was... scared."

"Oh, Steven." Pearl seemed to forget her minor injury immediately in favor of tending to Steven. She kneeled down beside the bed and rested her hand on Steven's knee. "This isn't about the thing you thought you saw outside the warp, is it?"

"_Know_ I saw!" Steven corrected, "Not _thought_. Something was warping!"

"Steven." Pearl took Steven harshly by the shoulders, "_Nothing_ on this planet can use those warps but us."

"Well... what if it came from space?"

Silence ensued.

"I..." Pearl was wide-eyed and surrounded by an air of all sorts of emotions, so much that Steven couldn't untangle the knot before she continued her sentence, "I don't appreciate your tone."

Garnet suddenly stepped forward. "I'm certain Pearl is right."

Amethyst took the opportunity she saw, and grabbed the plate Garnet held before she could lift it out of reach once more. She swallowed it whole.

Garnet took a deep breath. "If it will help you to feel better, we can go check." She held her hand out to Steven.

Steven took Garnet's hand and she helped him out of bed. "Okay... I guess."

Garnet smiled. "Get dressed Steven; we can't have you going around in your nightclothes."

"Oh." Steven rubbed his eyes. "Right."

"We'll be waiting."

"Right."

Steven did as Garnet told and quickly got dressed. He quickly joined the gems.

"I'm dressed, can we go now?"

"But Steven, you haven't eaten!" Pearl objected.

"I'm not hungry!" Steven stomped his foot, "I wanna find what was warping!"

"Oo, feisty!" Amethyst teased.

"Ya know, you've been taking that tone with me a lot lately and I don't know how I feel about that."

"Well maybe if you'd _listen_ to me!"

"_Enough_!"

Garnet word seemed to reverberate all around the room, and seized a silent spell from everyone except for her.

"Steven, you don't have to eat right now, but you will after we get done checking all the warps."

"Thank you Garnet."

"Let's go."

No one argued any further. They all piled onto the warp pad, and the very first place they warped to was the familiar flower field.

"See?" Pearl said, "There's nothing here!"

"Okay..." Steven said slowly, "But it has to have gone by now. It's somewhere else, I know it!"

They warped next to the bottom of the sea spire, and Steven felt a familiar sense of smallness in its shadow.

"Nothing here either." Garnet reassured.

"Let's keep looking."

They warped to the sky spire.

"Now _that's_ something!"

Steven felt his heart give a flutter, but the hope was quickly beaten back down when he saw what Amethyst was pointing at; a congregation of goats with dozens of kid goats sprinkled in and around the herd.

"Look! Big mean goaty is a big mean _mama_ now!"

It took Steven a moment to recognize the large female, but when he did the memories came flooding back; Amethyst challenging the larger goat in goat form, and the adventure that followed.

"Good for her." Garnet commented.

"We're getting off track here!" Steven said, and Garnet took his objections seriously.

They warped again. And again. And again. To place, after place, after place. Warping, searching, finding nothing.

"Steven, we've been searching for hours! What exactly do you want us to find?"

"Whatever was warping!" Steven said, "It _has_ to be somewhere!"

"Steven." Garnet said, "We need to get you home. You haven't eaten all day."

"I'm _fine_!" Steven lied; in all reality, his stomach as twisting with a hunger begging to be sataited.

"There is nothing to be found!" Pearl squawked.

"But you're wrong..."

"What was that?"

"I SAID YOU'RE _WRONG_!"

Pearl took a step back from Steven's outburst. "Steven! I don't appreciate this type of _violence_ coming from you!"

"AND NONE OF _US_ APPRECIATE YOUR _ARROGANCE_! WHY AM I ANGRY?!"

"BECAUSE _I'M_ ANGRY!"

Everyone looked over at Spinel, including Steven.

Spinel psuhed through Garnet and Amethyst to get to Pearl and point an accusitory finger at her chest. "How _dare_ you?!"

Pearl was frozen in place and stuttered out an, "I'm sorry?"

"Even if Steven didn't see something, your high and mighty attitude is just making things worse for him!"

"Spinel." Garnet warned. "Watch your tone."

"I'll watch my _tone_ when she watches her _words_! You're so confident in yourself that you won't consider the possiblity that he may be right, and that we may in danger! That he might have actually seen something out there, and if he _did_ and we _missed_ it because of _your_ bad attitude then you know what would happen!"

"What would happen?" Steven asked, and though his voice was quiet it easily silenced the shouting.

"There's still one place we haven't checked." Garnet said.

Pearl looked to the leader as if she were crazy. "You can't mean...?"

"We said everywhere. Spinel is right. We need to put Steven's concerns to rest, and the only way to do so is to show him there's nothing out there to be concerned about."

"Well, whatever it is can we hurry it along please?" Amethyst urged.

"Why?" Spinel smirked, "You got a date or something?"

Amethyst returned the grin. "Or something."

Garnet shook her head. "We'll be done soon, Amethyst."

They warped to a place Steven had never seen before; a large monument, surrounded by ocean, and lined with half a dozen warp pads. All except for the warp they appeared on was shattered; broken and cracked and covered in fractures.

"What's this place?"

"These are the warps that once connected us to other planets." Pearl explained, "If something came from space, it would come through here. But _look_! All these warps are _broken_."

Steven flinched as he felt something furry suddenly rub against his leg, and looking down he came to face a pale purple cat-Amethyst, purring and rubbing against him.

"Sorry Steven." She purred, "As usual, Pearl's right." She stepped away from Steven and turned back to herself. "You get used to it."

Garnet reached down a hand to pet Steven's head, but he ducked away from her. He still felt that dull anger brewing inside him, but he tried to ignore it. to swallow it and push it back down. Spinel was silent, and he knew why, but it still made him feel even worse. Garnet didn't seem to take offense from Steven avoiding her.

"We're safe." Garnet reassured him.

Steven said nothing. They warped back home.

"Finally!" Amethyst exclaimed, the first one off the warp, "That took all day!"

Spinel stormed off into her room and slammed the temple door behind her.

"It was important to make Steven feel safe." Garnet said to break the tense air surrounding them all.

"Yes, Steven feels _much_ safer now." Pearl wrapped her arm around Steven and lead him off the warp.

The anger hadn't left him, still brewing and bubbling and threatening to spill over. "Ya know, I'm a little tired." Steven tried to leave it at that, but the words just kept coming, "of _you_ telling _me_ how _I_ feel! I _know_ I saw something outside the stream!" It keep bursting out of him, though his brain screamed at him to stop. He _had_ to stop, but he had so much heat built up inside him that it was impossible and the fiery eruption only kept building.

"And _I_ know you _didn't_!" Pearl reflected the anger, "You should know to take my word for it! I swear it on my Crystal honor!"

"_I'M A CRYSTAL GEM TOO_!" Steven stomped his foot, and a sudden echo shot through the house, shaking it to it's very foundation. The three gems shook with the force, and radiating from them was nothing but fear. "And I swear on _my_ honor that something is out there! If you don't believe me and won't help me find it, then _I'll do it alone_!"

Steven shoved past Pearl, barely registering the thud behind him as he warped into the stream. The rage surrounded him followed him into the stream, blocking his thoughts and making the process seem more surreal and drawn out than ever before. His mind was clear despite the burning fires of anger, and the thoughts flashing through his mind made sense with the upmost clarity. Steven held his breath and stuck his head out of the warp stream.

Through the atmosphere that threatened to freeze his eyes solid, he saw them. Thousands of them. Small, black orbs warping at hyperspeed just as he was. Streams far and ones close too. One so close, in fact, he could almost reach out and touch it, so he tried. If he could just do that, just grab one of the dozen warping in that stream, he could bring it back home, he could...

Steven felt his body slipping. Falling, yet flying. Lifting and gliding and being devoured by the darkness as his legs left the stream and his connection to the warp was severed. Everything felt black. Black and cold and empty. Emotionless. Hard to breath, like the collar of his shirt was constricting his neck like a python would. He swallowed, and sighed, and tried to breath in deep but all he sucked in was cold.

The frost lifted momentarily and so did the storm in his mind. He felt his hands graze something solid and he grabbed it, the last thing he could manage to do before the nothingness returned to him. He pulled the... _something_... to his chest. It felt warm. He wanted to get closer to it. He held the thing closer and closed his eyes as he imagined himself being just as warm. Something was moving, but he didn't care. There was ringing, but he barely noticed. Warmth seeped from his eyes, only to freeze. The only heat he felt was the thing. Where... where did he get this thing? Why was he holding it? It was so warm though...

Heat expanded inside him, but it wasn't a good heat. It was like swallowing lava, but even lava was perferable over the endless nothing he felt. Nothing. _Nothing_... There was a strange noise. He liked the noise. A hum. He tried to hum along but nothing came out. _Hum_... _hum_...

The warmth inside him began to seep out. His eyes melted, the lava in his chest subsided. The small something warm turned into a big something warm, and the hum surrounded him in a delicate embrace. The hum stopped, but the warm surroundings only increased.

"Take deep breath's Steven."

Steven felt a strong, gem-incrusted hand pat his back twice before rubbing his back in a gentle motion.

"Mmm." Steven felt pain wash over him through the bliss of warmth, and he clung to the metal object in his arms. He groaned even louder when Garnet turned him over on his back and held his face in a warm hand.

She gave a sudden humph and Steven felt his prize being lifted away from him.

"No..." He reached up blindly for it.

"I"m not taking it Steven. Just looking."

Steven grabbed the object the moment it was place back on his chest and held it tight, even when it was sucking the warmth from out of him.

"This is what you saw out there."

"I don't _care_." Steven sobbed and let the warm tears heat his face."I don't..."

"I do." Garnet shifted Steven upright, resting against her shoulder, and gave his back another pat. "Come on, let's go home."

They warped back home, and Steven clung to Garnet for the entirety of jorney until it brought them back home, and only then did he crack his eyes open.

"Steven!" Pearl's voice and the worry in it was umistakable, "Are you okay?!"

Pearl was pushed aside as Spinel rushed to be the first to take Steven in her arms, cradling him like an infant.

"Oh, _Stevie_!" Spinel whimpered, rubbing her hand through Steven's hair, "It's okay, it's okay. You're freezing!"

"What is that thing?" Pearl was the first of the three to notice Steven's robot.

Small, metallic, with four legs that didn't quite attach to the rest of the bottom. It was still trying to move, kicking its legs in a feeble attempt, but Steven held it tight.

"I don't know. You don't know either?"

"Woah!" Amethyst grabbed onto Steven's arm to lift herself up and get a better view, "That thing's _far_ _out_!" She tried to touch it, but Steven turned his back on her.

"It's an alien robot from outer space or something!" He said; now that his voice returned, he didn't want to ever stop talking, "There were tons of them!"

Garnet nodded her head. "I saw them as well."

"There were like... so many!" Steven opened his arms wide, "And they all were going to the same place, I think."

"Do you know where?"

"Nuh uh."

"I do." Garnet said with certainty. "Follow me."

Everyone piled onto the warp pad. Steven opened his mouth to ask if he could walk, but quickly realized the weakness in his legs. He still tried to sit up straight in Spinel's arms, and he held tight onto her as they warped, the fear of falling back out still fresh on his mind. That endless feeling of his veru soul drifing away, his own thoughts just as scattered. He whimpered, but Spinel was there as a security blanket to ensure he didn't fall. They appeared at the Galaxy warp.

"_What are they doing to the Homeworld Warp_?!"

Steven opened his eyes to a strange sight; dozens of the robanoids, just like the one he held in his arms, gathered around one of the biggest warps. The ones that couldn't fit piled up into neat, single-file lines. Eradically, one of the robots on the warp would move off it and to the back of the line, while the next robot in order took their place. Each robot spewed out a strange goo onto the cracks, which then solidified into a shiny gleam.

"They're... _fixing_ it?" Spinel's voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper.

"There's a million of them!" Amethyst shouted.

"Garnet? What does this mean?" Pearl looked to the leader; they _all_ looked to the leader.

"I..." Garnet's voice was a shaking, fearful tone that Steven had never sensed from the great, unshakable leader. "_Don't know_."

She suddenly seized the group in a flash, and before Steven could process it he and the gems were tossed behind a pillar, with Garnet holding her arms tight around all of them at the same time, covering Steven and Amethyst's mouths. He looked down at his hands and his heart dropped when he didn't see his robot.

"Garnet, what..."

Garnet shushed Pearl gently, and Pearl covered her own mouth. There was a humming, a humming Steven recognized immediately. He pulled Garnet's hand off his mouth.

"Is that a warp?"

Garnet replaced her hand with a little more force and hushed him. Steven tried to look, and lucky for him the pillar wasn't all that big and he could barely see beyond it. The first thing he saw was something green, and the first thing that passed through his mind was the Desert Glass, but it was quick to see it wasn't the same gem,

Lime-green skin and blonde hair, with white visors (or where they markings?) around her eyes. Her outfit was a mix of different shades of green, ranging from dark to practically neon, and on her knees and chest were yellow, diamond-shaped markings. Her gentstone was a triangle, upside down and (you guessed it) green. Her face was cold and stoic. The stranger tapped her foot and hummed a strange tune while the robanoids all gathered around her, pawing at her feet and making strange clinking noises.

The gem lifted up a hand, and to Steven's absolutely horror, her fingers weren't attached to it. He tried to scream, but Garnet quickly pulled him back into cover, blocking out any chance of it.

"Log-Date 3 1 2."

Her voice was high and nasally, yet somehow managed to send a shiver down Steven's spine.

"This is Peridot, performing Earth Hub maintenance check."

_Peridot_. Her name was _Peridot_! He wanted desperately to relay this imformation to the gems, but the better half of him told him they were hearing everything he was.

"Warp repair a success. All 80 robanoids deployed and accounted for. Preparing to locate and manually reactivate Kindergarten."

A strange whirling sounded, and Steven tried to steal another glimpse, but Garnet wouldn't let him. There was a silence following that, and a flash of green.

"This sight may have been compromised."

Something small and compact and beeping skidded beside them, and the robanoids followed suit, swarming it and tapped it with their non-connected feet. Garnet pulled the group in front of her and tuned her back to the things as there was a sudden implosion of green and yellow smoke. When it cleared, all that was left in its wake were the robots laying in pieces, cold and inactive.

"Is... it safe?" Spinel asked.

Garnet didn't answer, but she did let go of the four. Pearl was the first one up, removing her hands from her mouth to breath in heavy, shaking breathes and cover her eyes instead. Steven felt a cold storm brewing inside her, infecting everyone around her as she paced back and forth across the monument.

"I can't... _do_ this! Not again!" She moved her hands back to her lips and was lost in thought for no more than a few seconds before continuing to speak, "They're coming back. They're coming back!"

Amethyst was grabbing fistfuls of her hair, and the infectious worry inside her bubbled into panic. "We're dead. We're _so_ dead!"

Spinel's pigtails were pulled back and she made strange, grunting-groaning noises, but she didn't speak.

"That was another gem right?"

Garnet ignored his question and walked to the repaired homeworld warp. Steven ran after her.

"Where did come from? What was she trying to do?"

"_Steven_!" Steven was pulled away from Garnet and into Spinel's arms, held tight against her. "Leave her be."

"It doesn't matter." Garnet's voice was back to its normal tone, but something about it seemed... off. Something that made Steven suddenly fearful.

Garnet summoned her gauntlet, and made it grow to three times its normal size before she brought it down hard on the gleaming, newly-repaired surface.

"She won't be coming back."


	27. Hearts and Breaks

The gems were on edge. Steven could feel it in the very air surrounding the temple. A black, noxious fume that kept him up at night with its suffocating nature. They still smiled, and they still acted like everything was perfectly fine, but Steven could see right past those false grins and narratives of safety. The only release he got was when he went into town, surrounded by all the good feelings of all the people that had no clue of anything. No idea of what danger could be lurking, just as Steven had no idea. He asked questions, he rarely got answers. It felt nice to be surrounded by people like him, kept in the dark about the threats that stalked in the night.

Steven found himself staying away from the temple as long as he could. Away from those nasty, nightmarish images that seemed to beam into his head every time he closed his eyes. The days passed by so fast, yet somehow slow at the same time, and before Steven knew it the town was decorated in hearts and cupids with arrows and fliers for various parties. _Valentines day_. In the early morning of that day, Connie had come to Steven with a preposition: She invited him not only to join her in the warmth that so often surrounded her, but to join her at the annual Gold Crest Parade.

"Mom works every holiday and dad was called in last minute so he has to bring me along." She had explained, "He said I could invite you too as long as you have a chaperone."

A _chaperone_... Steven knew just who to ask. Or at least he thought he did, until his dad said,

"No can do, Stew-ball. I gotta work tonight."

"But dad!"

"It's the busiest night of the year! Besides, I'm sure one of the gems will take you."

"But you got along so well with Connie's dad!"

"I'm sorry, Steven, we're low on money. Maybe next holiday."

Steven pouted. "There's no parade for President's day..."

Though he was disappointed, Steven was quick to decide on someone else he could ask, even if it meant he had to face the darkness surrounding his own home. Going up those same stairs he had climbed his entire life felt like a chore without any reward for entering the emotionally-stagnant atmosphere. He didn't have to go far to find the gem he was looking for, and he was relieved for it.

Spinel shook her head. "Sorry Steven, I don't like parades. I don't even really like Valentine's day."

"_WHAT_?!"

"Geeze, Steven, not so loud." Spinel whined, "It's just never really been my thing, ya know?"

"But you're... _you_! How could I have not seen this before? I'm sure you've celebrated Valentines! I'm... _almost_ sure."

"I've gotten you chocolates before..." Spinel said slowly, "And I've helped you cut out hearts and stuff. This is the first time it's ever really come up beyond that."

"But... but you have a heart gem!"

"Just because I have a heart..." Spinel traced her fingers along her gemstone, "doesn't mean I have to like Valentines."

"But you like _everything_!"

"_Except_ for Valentines Day. Why not ask Garnet to go with you? I'm sure she'd be happy to."

"I want _you_ though! Please?"

"Nuh uh. Besides, I gotta go on patrol."

"I thought I was on patrol?"

Steven looked over at Garnet and Amethyst, lurking near the warp pad.

"How long have you been there?" Steven asked.

"Doesn't matter." Amethyst threw her hands up in the air, "Free day!"

"No!" Spinel stretched out her arm before Amethyst could make her quick getaway and pulled her back out of the temple. "_You_ and _I_ are on patrol. Garnet here is gonna spend the day with Steven." Spinel pushed Garnet away from the warp to right in front of Steven.

"Spinel." Garnet looked down at the smaller gem, "That's not your call to make."

"It is now! Take a break Garnet." Spinel stretched out her leg to the warp pad, and then pulled the rest of her body along. "Amethyst and I can handle the patrol."

"No. I need to..."

"The only thing you need to do is spend time with Steven. _Ta-ta_!"

The warp beam activated, and Spinel and Amethyst were gone. Steven looked to Garnet.

"You'll come won't you? I don't want to have to ask Pearl."

Garnet blew smoke out of her nose. "Of course I will."

Later at the festival, though the air was filled with childish cheer and laughter, Steven's mind was still clouded by his own dark thoughts. Or maybe they were Garnet's negative emotions fueling him on; he couldn't tell anymore, and he was too outraged to care. The gem had gone with him, but she wasn't there now. It was just Steven and Connie, and Steven was making the most of it.

"How could anyone not like Valentines day? It's like..." Steven counted on his fingers, "My third favorite holiday!"

"Well, they've been alive for thousands of years Steven; they don't celebrate their birthdays either. It makes sense they wouldn't go crazy for every single celebration."

"Garnet likes Valentines day!"

Both young teens looked over at Garnet nearby, standing by a cotton candy vendor who was practically steaming with frustration. Garney reached for the pink cotton candy, then hesitated and reached for the blue, and then hesitated again and seemed to reconsider the pink.

"Yeah, she's gonna be a while." Steven said.

They both laughed, and Connie shook her head.

"I don't know what else to tell you Steven, but if Spinel doesn't want to celebrate Valentines, she probably has a reason. You shouldn't force her."

"I'd never force her!" Steven frowned, and looked away, "I just want her to have a good time."

"Who says she isn't having a good time? You did say she was on a date with Amethyst."

"Not a date!" Steven corrected her, "They're on patrol to make sure Peridot doesn't come back."

Garnet appeared suddenly in between them, holding a blue cotton candy and a pink one. "I got both."

"Did you get any for me?" Steven inquired.

Garnet stood there in silence for a moment before walking away back toward the cotton candy vendor.

"Guess not." Connie shrugged.

Garnet returned minutes later with four extra cotton candy's.

"I got some for Connie too." She gave a blue one and a red one to each of them.

"Thanks Garnet!" Steven took a bite of the blue one first; his favorite! "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You don't need to worry about what we saw." Garnet answered before Steven could even ask.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Peridot? It's okay, Connie already knows all about it! I tell her everything!"

"Yeah." Connie said, taking a peice of the pink sugar but not immediately eating it, "It's awful. What do you think she wants?"

"This isn't the place to discuss it." Garnet said curtly, but was quick to add, "Whatever she wanted, it doesn't matter. I destroyed the warp and she destroyed her droids. She isn't coming back."

"Oh, I know." Steven lied; he didn't know. Anything could happen, and anything could mean Peridot. He knew that Garnet had that same thought, too. Why else would she send out so many patrols? "That's not what's bothering me."

"Tell me what is." Garnet stuck both of her cotton candy sticks together and took a bite of the conglameration of red and blue.

"Spinel doesn't like Valentines Day!"

"Hm. Strange. Of all things that is the one on your mind."

"Yeah! Wait, why is that strange?"

"No reason. Continue."

"I mean, I get not celebrating Christmas; Connie doesn't celebrate Christmas. And maybe not celebrating Halloween, but I'm torn on that one. How could someone not like cupids and candy hearts and heart-shaped lollipops?"

"Not even you like everything Steven."

"Yeah, but Spinel is supposed to like hearts and stuff!"

"Steven, Valentines day is a day for couples. Lovers and partners, and not everybody has that."

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend and I still celebrate! And Connie doesn't have a boyfriend, and she still celebrates!"

Garnet smiled and looked between the two of them. "Sure. I suppose."

"Why are you smiling?"

Garnet adjusted her visors. "Oh. Never mind that."

"Okay. And you don't have anyone either, but you still came with me!"

"I wouldn't be too sure Steven."

"What do you mean?"

Garnet didn't answer. "You must be thirsty. I'll get you and Connie a drink." She promptly walked away.

"Get me blue gatorade please!" He called after her. "What do you want Connie?"

Connie shrugged. "I'm okay with whatever."

"Connie wants whatever!" Steven called, then quickly turned back to Connie, "But she didn't answer my question..."

"Maybe she doesn't know how?" Connie suggested, "I mean, you can't expect her to know what Spinel's thinking. If you really wanna know, you could always ask her yourself."

Steven blinked, and then slapped his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?!"

"Beats me."

"Eee!" Steven squealed and hugged Connie, "Thanks Connie! You're so smart!"

"It's a simple solution Steven." Connie said, "Mom always says the simpilist answer is the often the solution."

"Your mom's smart too!"

"Well I'd hope so; she's a doctor. She have a bunch of lives in her hands."

"Like my mom did!" Steven beamed. "Kinda."

"Healing and doctor-ing don't seem all that different, huh?"

"Nope!"

The rest of the parade passed by fast. Garnet returned with their drinks, and the three watched the remainder of the parade. Afterward they still had a few hours to kill, and spent it playing games and riding rides (though Garnet sat out for most of that, simply watching). When 's shift ended and he came to collect Connie, that was Garnet's and Steven's cue to leave as well. They had to walk, since Steven's dad's car still wasn't completely fixed, but Steve didn't mind; especially not when Garnet carried him on her shoulders most of the way. They returned later that night with a head full of memories and, in the case of Steven, arms full of prizes and chocolate.

"Steven!" Pearl cheered the moment the two walked through the door, picking up a plate from the counter and bringing it over to him, "I made you an early dinner since Garnet and I have to go on patrol."

"Thanks!" Steven examined the plate; chicken, mac-and-cheese, and mixed vegetables. "It smells good!"

"Oh. How sweet!" Pearl beamed and pet Steven on the head, "How was your day, Steven?"

"It was awesome! Connie and I got to ride so many rides! We rode the tilt-a-whirl three times! And... then I sick. And then we rode again! There were all sorts of cool things there! I got this for Amethyst." Steven held up a small baggy full of candy.

"Well." Pearl blinked, "I'm sure she'll love it, Steven."

"You think?"

"I know." Pearl bopped Steven on the nose.

Steven squealed with joy.

"Now eat your dinner, Steven."

"Yes Pearl!"

Garnet looked to the warp pad. "They're back."

In that instant, the warp activated and Spinel and Amethyst materialized. Steven quickly stood up, picking up the bag he held, and running to them before Amethyst could get away.

"Amethyst! Amethyst! I got you something!" Steven held out the candy bag.

"Hey, thanks little man!" Amethyst took the bag, ready to drop the entire thing down her throat, but then hesitated. She unwrapped it, took out a single piece of candy, and put it in her gemstone. Then she ate the rest in one swallow. "Later!"

She was gone before anyone could get another word in.

"Hug time!"

Spinel's unnatural arms wrapped around Steven and pulled him close and into a hug.

"How was the parade?" Spinel asked.

"Awesome!" Steven cheered, "But I'll tell you after dinner. Otherwise I think Pearl's gonna ground me."

One look back at Pearl proved his suspicions true; Pearl had one hand on her hip and her eyes raised, alternating between looking at Steven and looking at his dinner.

"Yes." Pearl said, "You will see to it that he finishes his food today, Spinel?"

Spinel gave a mocking bow and an exaggerated wave of her arm. "Whatever you say, your highness."

"Good." Pearl joined the two of them by the warp pad. She put both hand son Steven's shoulders, gave him a pleasant smile, and then stepped onto pad them.

Garnet did the same. "We'll by back no later than eight in the morning." Garnet said to Spinel, "Make sure you're ready to relieve Pearl. You may have pawned off your day to me, but I still expect you to work tomorrow."

"Ay ay, captain." Her tone was even more sarcastic, if that was possible.

Garnet and Pearl warped away.

"So I take it today went well?"

"Ya huh!" Steven said, "We did so much cool stuff, but it still would have been better if you were there. Garnet was too big for most of the rides." Steven looked away, "You aren't."

"Steven, I'm sure it was still fun, right? With Connie? Beside, Garnet's always taken off on Valentines day, and I wasn't gonna let her break that tradition just because some green eyed gem lady shows up out of the blue. And, like I said, today just doesn't interest me anyway. But I'm glad you had a good time."

Steven grabbed Spinel by her arm. "But why?!"

Spinel smirked."Why am I glad you had a good time?"

"Why won't you celebrate?"

Spinel shrugged. "I just don't wanna. Now eat your dinner; I gotta go feed my pets theirs."

Spinel went to walk away, but Steven didn't let go; he fell to the ground as he struggled to hang on to Spinel, and as Spinel kept on walking without any inhibitions until she turned around to look down at him.

"Please tell me!"

"Steven." Spinel pouted, "Get up! The floor's yucky."

"Why do you hate Valentines day?!"

Spinel wrapped her arms around Steven gently and lifted him to his feet. The moment he was up, he immediately jumped back to hug her.

"I'm not gonna stop pestering you until you tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me..."

Spinel was louder and easily able to interrupt him. "Why do you suddenly care? You didn't care last year, or the year before that."

"Well this is my first official year as a Crystal Gem! I have to care!"

"You've always been a Crystal Gem, Steven."

"But it was never official! But now it is, and I have to act all official-like! Like Garnet!" Steven cleared his throat and did his best Garnet impression. "Spinel, you have to tell me how you feel."

Spinel coughed, and her coughing was quick to turn to laughter. Steven grinned.

"Yes, but how does that make you feeeeeel?"

Spinel pointed at him, "That's inaccurate! Garnet doesn't ask questions, cause she knows everything!"

"Yeah she thinks that." Steven covered his mouth, but it was too late, and Spinel was looking at him with owl-like eyes and a baffled aura.

"What?"

"What?" Steven tried to cover it up, to hide the fear and struggle clearly etched into his features. "I just meant... uh... she didn't know about Peridot!"

Spinel's expression faded and she tapped her lips. "True."

Steven went along with it, "And she doesn't know what Peridot's planning, or what she's doing, or where she's doing it!"

"Okay, I get it."

"Yeah! Garnet's doesn't..." Steven started to think, "Know... everything. Huh."

Spinel tilted her head and gave a half smile. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That 'huh'! It sounded like an epiphany." Spinel leaned close to Steven and looked directly into his eyes.

"Huh." Steven turned his back to Spinel to hide his guilty expression from view, "Why would you think that, Spinel?"

"Steven." Spinel tried to walk in front of him, but Steven turned away from her. "Steven! Look at me!"

Spinel grabbed Steven by the arms and spun him around.

"Tell me!"

"I can't!" Steven closed his eyes and tried to struggle away.

"Why not?"

"It's bad!"

"What's bad?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Why not?

"Cause it's bad!"

Spinel went silent, and Steven opened his eyes to see what was going on only to see her swirling pupils staring back at him, her body bent at a pain-looking angle to achieve such a feat.

"Steven Quartz Universe!"

"NOT THE MIDDLE NAME!"

"I'm gonna count to three." Spinel held up three fingers, "And then I want you to spill."

Steven gulped. "What happens when you get to three?"

Spinel gave him a devilish glare. "You don't wanna know. _One."_

"I can't tell you!"

"_Two_."

"I promised Amethyst!"

"Two and a _half_!"

"Please!" He felt tears pool in the corners of his eyes.

"Two and _three quarters_!"

"Okay, okay!" Steven pushed Spinel away and took a step back, "But if I tell you, you can't tell Amethyst! And you have to tell me why you don't like Valentines."

Spinel held out her gloved hand. "Deal!"

They shook their hands.

Steven took a deep breath. "Amethyst has a gem hidden in her room!"

Spinel took a step back. "Um. Huh?!"

"Her name's Desert Glass! Amethyst's been hiding her since before Christmas, she calls her Sandy and she's teaching her stuff."

Spinel's eyes flashed red. "And you kept this from me?!" The red faded, and so did the anger, to be replaced with something cold and stinging and painful. _Betrayal_. "You... kept this... from _me_?"

"I didn't want to!" Steven said immediately, "I mean, I did, but not from you! Amethyst should keep it a secret from Pearl and Garnet, cause..."

"They would hurt her." Spinel finished.

"Exactly!" Steven said.

"But... why me?"

"I don't know!" Steven said, "I just found out like two weeks ago! Honest."

"I..." Spinel closed her eyes for the longest time, and then opened them with the upmost sincerity flashing in her pools of pink, "I believe you. It's fine... it's... fine. And now I owe you a story..."

Steven frowned. "Is it a happy story...?"

Spinel turned away from him. "No.

It's not that I don't like what this day's about for humans, cause I do... a day dedicated to couples and lovers and peace. I don't like it because of what if means to me. Back when I first came to earth, there was no Valentines Day yet, it was just another day. And to me, it wasn't a good day. That was the day I... um... _left_ space. And came to earth. That wasn't a happy journey for me. There wasn't any love or any partner or any peace for me. Just... sadness and... something I don't want to talk about that happened while I was away. Someone I cared about was hurt, and I didn't know, and I was so broken I... came to earth to... _heal_. To heal. To... stop the pain."

Spinel raised a hand to her chest.

"I was very sad back then, Steven. Sad and sick. And I... fell. From a very high place. And I was really hurt, for many reasons. I remember Garnet found me there, and took me to Rose, but I didn't like Rose. I couldn't like Rose... at least I didn't think I could. She fixed me the best she could, but not all things are asily fixed. I wanted to run after that, to try a different place where I could stop the hurt that Rose couldn't. I just... didn't want to be alone. Rose... made sure I wasn't alone..."

Spinel fell to the floor, and Steven sat beside her. Sat in silence, just in each other's presence. Steven rested his head on Spinel's shoulders.

"You feel sad. Are you... still sad?"

"I... after Rose helped me I didn't feel as sad, but some days, like today, it comes back. Even when it happened so long ago. It's been worse since..."

"Since mom died."

Spinel looked down at Steven and gave a slight gasp.

"It's fine, you can say it. Mom's _dead_. She didn't just _go away_, or _disappear_, or _leave_ _us_. She died, and she's not coming back. It's okay to say that. Mom didn't make your pain go away did she? She just helped. Maybe I can help too."

"Steven, healing tears won't fix this. Or healing spit, in your case."

"I wasn't thinking about that."

Spinel sniffed and tilted her head. "No?"

"Nuh uh." Steven shook his head, "You're really sad today cause you remember getting hurt, but why not remember something different? Any time you wanna think of you being sad, try to think of mom instead. Of her helping you. Or of Garnet bringing you to her, or everything you've done with Amethyst. There's gotta be something good with Pearl, if you think _really_ hard."

Spinel laughed.

"Or if you want, I can help you think of something else. Something happy, and not sad."

Spinel closed her eyes and breathed in deep. "Thank you Steven."

"Do you... wanna be alone?"

Spinel shook her head. "Not really."

"Then, do you wanna do something?"

Spinel hesitated. "No."

"Then um... wanna just sit here together and not talk?"

"Yeah..."

"Then we can do that. Starting now."

**The next chapter may be a bit delayed as I've suddenly come with sickness and im not sure i can finish it in time for next week. Please be patient**


	28. Two hundred percent perfect

"A-5-6-7-8!" Pearl clapped her hands to set the beat, "Synchronize!"

Amethyst took the lead and Steven followed. She had her hands at her side, swaying her hips left, right, left, right. Back-step, step forward, hip swivel. Hands traced up the length of her body, up over her shoulders and past her head into the air. She stuck out her chest, wiggled her hips, and stepped to the left, then the right, then the left. Steven was always one step behind her, yet still he could hear the chime begin to surround them. A steady knocking and warping that faded into a quick-paced tune with the same beat, only faster. Amethyst spun around, and Steven spun around, and then when they came back to face each other Amethyst held out her arms. Steven ran to her, and once he was in reach Amethyst grabbed him and lifted him above her head- and behind it. Then they were both falling with the momentum, Amethyst landing on top of Steven and knocking the air from out of him.

Steven sucked in a deep breath, and the first thing he did with it was laugh along with Amethyst. The fun was quickly drained from the situation was Steven was dragged out from under her by Pearl.

"Steven! Anything broken?"

"I'm fine!" Steven laughed through the dull pain.

Garnet huffed, but not at Steven. Amethyst immediately swallowed her laughter.

"Be serious." Garnet said.

"I am, geeze." Amethyst said, looking away; her voice sounded so sad it stopped Steven's laughing too, "It was an accident."

"Garnet's right!" Pearl agreed, "You need to be more carful Amethyst!"

"Actually," Garnet followed up, "I was talking to myself."

Pearl blinked slowly. "Oh. Well uh, back to starting position both of you!"

"You're doing great Steven." Spinel gave a thumbs up.

Steven smiled at Spinel's encouragement as he returned to his position in front of Amethyst and the fusion dance began again. Hips left, hips right, and repeat. Back, forward, swivel. He began to anticipate Amethyst's moves, and the musical beat surrounding them helped to keep the rhythm. Instead of matching his dance to Amethyst, he found himself matching to the beat. A graceful, surrounding presence that told his feet where they needed to go. Flowing through his body and guiding his arms and hips and every part of him to match. He was ready when Amethyst completed her spin and came back around arms out, and Amethyst was ready to catch him when he came running. She grabbed him by his side and lifted him not quite as far as she had the first time. That's when Steven made the mistake of opening his eyes.

He and Amethyst locked eyes, and them something in that situation just seemed so funny to the both of them. Amethyst's calm, relaxed face cracked a smile and Steven couldn't fight doing to the same, and neither could fight back the laughter that came after and overrode the musical tone.

"Sorry, sorry!" Amethyst put Steven gently back on the ground, "He looked at me funny!"

Pearl raised her eyebrows and nodded over to Spinel over on the couch. Steven and Amethyst took the hint and let Garnet and Pearl have control of the floor.

"Pay attention now, Steven."

Garnet and Pearl interlocked hands. Together they swayed side to side as a new tune began to take control; a long, whining build up that that lead to a few elegant, steady piano notes and then settled into a harsher, jarring sound and then repeated again. Garnet then spun Pearl around and placed her right hand in the small of Pearl's back while Pearl held her free hand out to the side. Garnet stepped forward, Pearl back. Pearl put both her hands to Garnet's chest while the larger gem grabbed her by her waist; the song was only growing more powerful by the second. A swoop, a dip, and then Garnet shoved Pearl against the wall and slammed her hands down on either side of her. Pearl turned to look at Steven.

"See?"

Steven hummed in thought.

"Maybe it would be easier for him to try with Spinel." Garnet suggested.

"WHAT?" Pearl's voice grew high-pitched and sharp, "Are you kidding? Spinels eh... dance... is way too extreme for Steven!"

"Okay, then you go."

Steven joined Pearl while the others watched, and he tried his best to remember and copy Garnet's movements. He tried to spin Pearl once the time came, but Pearl went too far back and her legs nearly slid out from under her. He tried to reach Pearl's back and, though Pearl kneeled to help him, when Steven went to tip her she hit the ground and Steven fell on top of her.

"Ah! Sorry Pearl!" Steven struggled to get up. Garnet lifted him with ease into one arm, and helped Pearl to stand with the other.

Spinel and Amethyst didn't even try to hold back their laughter.

"You say _my_ dance was bad?" Amethyst chortled.

"Well it's a bit different when he's dancing with someone of average height."

"Hey, don't go there."

Spinel propped up her arm and leaned into her fist. "Now that's just mean!"

"Amethyst." Garnet said, "Let's try you and Steven again. You two seemed to be getting somewhere. But perhaps try something more simplistic."

"Sim...simp.. that word is my middle name." Amethyst threw herself off the couch and pushed Pearl out of the way, "Beat it, bird-nose. Let the master try."

"Oh." Pearl gave a fake smile and a shocked look, "But your name's not Garnet, is it?"

Amethyst rolled her eyes. She took a few steps away from Steven. "Follow this dude!"

Amethyst stuck out her arms palm-down, and Steven followed. She flipped her hands over and so did Steven. Then she touched her hands to her hand, folded them over each other to touch the opposite shoulder, pulled them back and place them on her hips. Steven did as she did. The music inside him and all around was blaring so loud it blocked out all thought that weren't directly linked to the dance. It pounded in his ears and inside his skull and through his entire body, stuck on the threshold of something amazing but night quite pushed over the limit. Then Amethyst started to sway back and forth, bending her body as if there were no bones inside, because there weren't; she was just light. But Steven had bones, and when he tried to replicate the move all that happened was an awkward, and frankly painful, shimmy.

"Ow."

Amethyst flinched. "Oh. Forgot you had bones. Sorry dude."

Garnet picked up Amethyst by her head and placed her gently to the side. "It was unavoidable."

Matching Garnet was even more difficult than matching Pearl. She started off slow, but just as their song started to speed up, Garnet did to. The song itself was a lot less intense than the other two songs, but had a lot more depth and complexity to it. Warping and whirling and sounding like something that Sourcream would play in a rave. Steven stopped trying when he could no longer process where Garnet had put her hands before she had already moved them to three other positions.

"Um."

Garnet stopped and looked at him. Steven shrugged.

Spinel extended her arms to lift herself off the couch and then streched out her legs to right in front of Garnet before she pulled the rest of her body along.

Garnet bowed her head. "Go ahead."

Steven took Spinel's hand, and they immediately started a fast-paced shuffle. Spinel put her hands to Steven's back and started to spin, not like a spinning top as she usually did but instead in a circle around the floor pulling Steven along with her. Steven felt his feet leave the ground, then return for a few quick steps, and leave again. His vision spun and he felt vulnerable; one wrong move, one misstep on either of their parts, and he didn't want to know the outcome that would arise. Spinel's arms slivered from his back to his shoulders, and when they finally stopped spinning it was clear Spinel wasn't done with him; she pulled him between her legs, and then pulled him back with a quick momentum and launched him into the air.

Steven panicked. The only relief of his situation was when he didn't bang his head on the ceiling and instead fell fast toward the ground. He remembered himself, caught himself, and opened his eyes to the blissful, slow descent he had fallen into. He hadn't even heard a song that time! Spinel reached up and grabbed Steven by his ankles to pull him down faster.

"Yeah." Spinel admitted, "Maybe I shouldn't have done that inside."

Many tries later, many attempts where the music took control of him in a way nothing else could, and there was still nothing. Nothing beyond the tilting threshold he felt, there on the edge and about to fall over it until something drew him back to reality and back to the ground where he stood. The gems finally gave him a break, and Steven collapsed on the couch.

"I really thought I had it that time!"

Pearl returned from the kitchen with the glass of ice water she had promised to Steven, sitting beside him and handing him the drink. Steven chugged it quickly, and then the precious salvation was gone as fast as it had arrived. He popped one of the ice cubes into his mouth.

Pearl rested her hand on Steven's knee and gave him a patient smile. "Steven, no one expects you to be able to fuse on the first try, or even the first hundred! You're not failing, you're _practicing_!"

"Yeah!" Amethyst pulled herself onto the counter, "It's hard sometimes, even for us!"

"Amethyst! Off the counter!"

"Who are you, my mom?"

"Gems don't have moms, but we did we all know it would be Garnet!"

Garnet nodded solemnly. "It's true. Off the counter Amethyst."

Amethyst groaned but didn't argue. She went limp and her body slid off the counter and into a pile on the floor.

"Well, anyway..." Spinel started slowly, "It took Amethyst a few hundred years to learn how to fuse!"

"That doesn't make me feel any better!"

"And if I remember correctly," Pearl talked over him, "It took Spinel a few thousands to even attempt it."

Spinel raised her brow. "I seem to recall _you_ having the same issue."

"Guys?" They continued to ignore him.

Garnet crossed her arms and sat back. "_I_ didn't have that issue."

"Guys? Come on! Listen to me!"

Pearl waved her hands in surrender. "The point is that with a little practice..." Her smiled faded, and her features squinted as she went from talking to Steven to talking with herself. "Though... I wonder if Steven's body is capable of fusion. Fusion combines the light forms of gems, but Steven's organic."

"Come on! It's _Steven_!" Amethyst pulled herself onto the arm of the couch with her legs dangling off, "Who knows what could happen?"

"Amethyst! Off!"

"What? Can't sit on the counter, can't sit here! Where _can_ I sit?" Pearl pointed down, and Amethyst gave a long, exaggerated sigh. "_Okaaay_."

She hopped off on all fours like a dog and settled on the floor. Pearl gave a satisfied smile.

"I think he can do it." Spinel said, making herself even skinner than Pearl to fit on the couch.

Garnet sat down beside Amethyst on the floor, though she sat criss-cross while Amethyst sprawled. "I _know_ he can."

* * *

Steven and Connie sat on a blanket on the beach, each holding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so generously provided by the latter. They weren't doing as much eating as they were talking, but in between the conversation they would periodically take such a small bite as to not impede their discussion.

"Maybe they could write the move down for you?" Connie suggested, "That's always worked for me."

"I don't think so." Steven admitted sadly, "I do better just seeing them do something instead of reading about it."

Connie hummed and took the chance to take a bite of her food while she thought. "Well, why do they want you to fuse anyway?"

Steven thought. "They didn't say. Maybe they just thought I was old enough or something. I _am_ a teenager now, after all!"

"Seems kinda _convenient_..."

"Huh?"

"I just mean that, with everything going on, don't you think it has something to do with Peridot? Like they want you to be prepared in case they need to fight someone?"

"But they have Opal and Sugalite and Sodalite if they need to be bigger!"

"Yeah, but your mom was the leader. It make's sense that she must have been pretty strong."

"Oh yeah! Pearl says that she was never poofed once!"

"Exactly! Maybe they think you'd be just as durable in a fusion. It's just something to think about." Connie looked away and traced her fingers in the sand, "I didn't mean anything by it. Just some outside perspective."

"Well I have _inside_ perspective! And... I'm not even sure I can fuse. The gems get all glowy and stuff, and I'm _organic_. Whatever that means."

"It just means you're made of living tissue and they aren't. I think it's amazing you're even able to dance in front of them at all!"

Steven blinked, and leaned closer to his friend. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing!" Connie was quick to look away, "It... it's dumb."

Steven put his hand on hers and Connie looked to him as if he had lost his mind.

"No it isn't!"

Connie stared, and it seemed the entire universe was reflected in her hazel eyes. "I could never do something like that."

"I'm sure you could! You're probably a great dancer!"

"It's not that I can't dance, it's that I can't dance in _front_ of people. There was this dance at my school a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to go but... just the thought of all those people staring..."

"Well, no one's staring now."

"Um. You are."

Steven broke the staring contest he hadn't even realized he was in.

"Oh uh. Can I borrow your phone?"

Connie gave a suspicious look but unlocked her phone and gave it over to Steven. Steven went to the first music app he saw and clicked on the first song he saw: Alone Together. He turned the volume all the way up, placed it in the sand, put his arm over his eyes and said:

"What I was trying to say was..." He held his hand out to Connie. "Come dance with me?"

At first, nothing happened. But then Steven felt Connie's hand in his and that was his cue to stand and to pull Connie along with him into the open sand as the song started to pick up. A long whistle followed by the steady drum of a snare, and then fading into a whole array of instruments that Steven couldn't differentiate from. It wasn't like the songs that came on when he tried dancing with the gems; this song was already there, no build up necessary, and no focus on keeping the beat. Just him and Connie, there on the beach, with the song fading in the background.

Steven opened his eyes and they met with Connie's. They both smiled wild smiles, and it was Connie who lead the first dance. Intertwining her fingers with Steven's and working into a motion of pushing his left and pulling his right, then pushing his right and pulling his left. It only took a few seconds for Steven to learn the rhythm and add something of his own. He tightened his grip and dug his heels into the sand, Connie keeping him from falling while he also kept her from the same fate, and they started to spin. When the spinning stopped, Steven reached up as high as he could to be just barely tall enough to spin Connie on her own. He spun her once, twice, and then stopped and they both laughed.

Steven let go of her hand, and Connie watched him curiously as he backpedaled a few paces and started to dance on his own. Connie followed his example and started her own dance, much more reserved and delicate than Steven's. Steven couldn't remember ever seeing anything so beautiful as the sun reflecting off of her dark skin or her dress swaying with her motion and with the breeze, or with her beautiful curls bouncing along to the rhythm. Her eyes were closed so she couldn't see him staring, and he couldn't break the spell. Connie danced closer to him. Her features became clearer, her movements more confident and filling with more energy in each passing moment. Steven was barely aware of his own body's distant attempts to continue dancing to the beat, closer and closer and closer until...

They collided.

Connie's eyes popped open. She spun around and grabbed Steven before he could fall any farther than he already had, one arm around his back and the other his neck. They came nose-to-nose. Steven could feel Connie's breath on him and was certain Connie could feel his, but all that mattered in that instant was the chocolate pools just inches away from his face. There was a pink light that surrounded them, and everything became clear.

* * *

The first thing that came to them was sound. The crash of the waves at the shore, the song (_their_ song!) replaying. Somewhere in the distant, a seagull gave a cry, and that was what made them open their eyes and sit up straight, only to flinch and close their eyes again against the painful brightness of the sun.

"Ugh. What is that?"

They smacked their hands to their mouth, but then was quick to pull it away again.

"Is that... my (_our_) voice?"

Their eyes scanned down their body with mounting horror. The slightest curve of their chest, covered in an almost too tight red star shirt (My shirt?); their legs, constricted within a pair of jeans [My pants?]. Their hair fell long around their shoulders and down across their chest in beautiful, dark brown curls. A pink stone, Steven's pink stone, in their stomach where their belly button should have been.

"Wha!"

They tried to stand, but their legs gave our beneath them. Too big, too _tall_.

"What... _Steven_? _Connie_? Where..." They blinked, and the booming thoughts inside them started to settle as both came to a decision. "I, you! _We_?"

They struggled, and fell. Then struggled and fell. Struggled to get their feet under them, to stumble toward the water.

"We, you- _fused_? No, I- please it's- I don't like- no! This... this is _great_."

The voices in their head argued and screamed, fighting for their voice to be heard, even if it wasn't _their_ voice. We _can't_, we _can_. It's okay. It's fine. Just breathe.

They closed their eyes, and sucked in a deep breath. In, out, in, out. Calming their minds- both of them- and considering their next words. Slowly, thinking, collaborating.

"We did it! We're a fusion!"

Just those short sentences were enough to make them feel exhausted; exhilarated too, but in a way that tired them after a time.

(We fused!)

[Steven, calm down!]

(We! Us! Here! Oh...)

They hugged themselves.

[Steven I... I feel so... wow...]

(We need to tell the gems!)

[First we need to get there.)

They let out a sigh. They took a deep breath, gathered their remaining strength, pushed off the sand. They nearly fell forward with the momentum but, waving their arms, they were able to sway back and catch themself. They didn't immediately move; just standing was a trying task, and their visions began to tunnel. _Easy_... another breath, and the first shaky step toward the beach house. Nearly falling, catching themself, and then repeating the process again; sometimes, they did fall, and it would take all their effort to get back up again. But never once did they stop. Then, they came to the stairs.

"Okay, we can do this, we can-"

One part of them tried to step forward while the other didn't move, and it resulted in a painful half-step that caused them to the ground.

"Ugh..." They struggled to breath, "Why... did you- I- we... Ugh!"

(We need to move.)

[I can't... Steven... I'm so tired...]

(Then let _me_.)

They forced themselves to stand. Connie gave control to Steven, and Steven forced their fusion forward and up the steps. Half way up, stregnth began to flow through their legs, and when they finally reached the top, it came as a relief to both halves.

"We really need to invest in a ramp." They opened the door.

The moment they entered, they felt a sudden rush of bewilderment seize them, as forine as their new form, but within seconds both remembered the senswation, even if only one had ever felt it before.

Pearl, Garnet, and Spinel were matched in their confusion, but Amethyst's wide eyes and gaping mouth were from a completely different emotion.

"Excuse me." Pearl said, "I think you..."

"_PEARL_!"

Pearl was suddenly pulled to Amethyst's height, and, after giving an exclamination of alarm, she snapped.

"Amethyst, why did you...!"

Her words faded away when she followed Amethyst's finger to see she was pointing at the rosey gemstone in the fusion's bare stomach. Her mouth dropped.

The fusion stood up straight and put their hands on their hips.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Spinel blinked, then glanced down at the gemstone and back up in a rapid succession. "You _fused_? With _Connie_?!"

Amethyst covered her grin and began to laugh, but her eyes were no longer on the stranger. "Guys, look at Garnet."

Everyone looked to the leader. Garnet had her hands pressed to her mouth, but that didn't hide the spliting grin; it couldn't, even if she tried. She was laughing, kind of, but the laugh sounded weak, like it hadn't been used in over a thousand years.

Pearl finally broke her stunned daze and stood up, dusting off her pants and her sleeve where Amethyst had grabbed her. She strutted quickly over to them and started to circle. Steven and Connie did their best to follow her path.

"This is unprecedented!" Pearl pulled and tugged at their clothes, "A gem fusing with a human? It's impossible! Or at the very least innaproperate."

Steven and Connie grabbed their shared head. All the words soaringing through their head, their thoughts, their memories. Together, but seperate, all combined into one tangled spiders web of good, bad, and embarrasing.

"Steven? Connie?"

"Huh?" They looked around, "What?"

"You zoned out for a bit..." Spinel said, "Are you okay?"

"Oh uh, yeah, just..." They rubbed their head, "Just... a lot of thoughts. Hard to concentrate."

"Yes." Pearl said absently, "That sensation takes a while to get used to..." She tugged at Steven and Connie's shirt, but they were quick to cross their arms over their chest.

Spinel glared. "Pearl, stop being a perve."

"I'm just curious on their anatomy! And how this is even possible!" She fell into thought and started to mutter to herself, "What would their organs look like...?"

"Like organs!" Amethyst exclaimed, "Duh! Whatever they look like, they look good together!" She walked over to the fusion and took their hands in hers, swaying them back and forth. "So how does it feel, Steven? And uh. Connie. Stevonnie?"

Stevonnie grinned wide. "It feels _amazing_!"

They ran their hands along the length of their body to take in every curve and flawed imperfection in their form. Pearl took a step back and gave them a dissaproving look.

"Yes, well I'm... glad... you're enjoying yourselves, but do me a favor and unfuse this instant!"

"Wait, what?"

"Come on, Pearl!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"I..." Stevonnie settled on their words, "I thought you'd be happy."

"I am! But... Garnet, you've been quiet. What do you think of this? Surely you can see how inappropriate it is!"

Garnet slowly approached Stevonnie. It was strange being face-to-face with her.

"Steven, listen to me." She took Stevonnie's hands gently, "You are not one person, you are not two. You are an experience. Make sure it's a good experience." That smile returned to her face. "Now _go_! _Have_! _Fun_!"

* * *

Their first stop a simple place that they both agreed on. One that, while it might not have been as popular as the similar ones in Gold Crest, never failed to make either of them smile: The Big Donut. The journey down the stairs had been a lot easier than the journey up, and the walk across the beach was even easier as they started to work out the kinks of their new form. They opened the door and stepped inside.

They were met with two similar waves of awe that made their chest flutter and, almost immediately, their palms started to sweat. They tried to casually wipe it off on their jeans as their approached the counter. Lars and Sadie both had to look up at them, stars dazzling in their eyes and, most percularly, it was Lars who gave the first greeting.

"How can I... help... you?"

Stevonnie considered themself. "Two chocolate donuts please."

Lars only stared, and it was Sadie who made the first move in gathereing the donuts and handing them silently over to Lars, who passed them over the counter to Stevonnie. The two workers didn't even look like they were blinking.

"Thanks." Stevonnie checked the bag despite the fact she was seen Sadie fill it, and then reached in their back pocket to produce Connie's wallet. "What do we... I owe you."

Lars went red in the face and looked to Sadie, and Sadie became even redder. She loved Lars aside so she could be right in front of Stevonnie, and Lars was quick to pop right back up and kneel at Sadie's side.

"Nothing!" Sadie blurted out, "It's uh on the house!"

"Really?"

Sadie and Lars both nodded in perfect sync.

"Mmmhmm!"

"Yeah, uh huh! Totally!"

"Okay." Stevonnie went to walk away, then stopped and looked over their shoulder to say, "But just so you know, that's not a very sound business practice."

They walked out the door and stopped to make up their minds and decide where to go. Both agreed on one place, and tbhey settled down on a bench to enjoy themselves.

"Sweet! Two donuts." They pulled one of the donuts out from the bag, and then went back for the other, "One for me, and one for..." They turned, but no one was there, "Me. Oh."

[Are you okay?] They broke the donut in half, [We... we can stop.]

(No, it's okay.) Stevonnie put the two halves back together.

Stevonnie let out a breath. "Okay. It's okay."

"Hey."

They looked up at the familiar voice. "Hey Sourc-." Stevonnie cut themself off, "I mean. Sour-face stranger." Their eyes glanced down. "Huh. Nice pants."

"Thanks." A small twinge of color came to Sourcream's face, "There's like, 27 pockets."

His blue eyes scanned over Stevonnie and paused at their stomach and the gemstone imedded there.

"Oh." Sourcream laughed at himself, "Sorry. Nice fusion, though."

"What?" Stevonnie stood of quickly and nearly lost their balance as the other half of them strugged to follow, "How do you know about fusion."

Sourcream didn't flinch. "Eh, don't worry about it. Buck, Jenny, and I are totally having a rave at the warehouse tonight. You should like, totally show up. There's gonna be uh. Glowsticks."

"I love glowsticks!" Stevonnie covered their mouth, "A rave? Like... like a dance?"

Sourcream stuck his hands in two of his many pockets. "Yeah."

"Great! We'll be there!"

Stevonnie went forward to hug Sourcream, but Connie held both of them back.

"Uh." Sourcream took a step back, but was quick to brush off the awkward encounter. "Well, see you there...?"

"Stevonnie!" They said quickly, "Our name is Stevonnie!"

Sourcream winked. "See you there, Stevonnie."

He left.

"Great!" Stevonnie said to themself, "A dance! This is your, our, chance to go a dance! We should probably call your parents though.

There was silence.

"Oh NO I FORGOT MY PHONE ON THE BEACH!"

* * *

The moment Stevonnie entered the warehouse, It immediately felt far too humid and far too packed, with voices ringing words in all directions, all lost on them. Their heart (hearts?) started to race. They wanted to run away, to hide in any less populated section, but looking for such a place was almost impossible through the crowd. They tried to turn their focus on anything other than the noise and the constructive feeling in their chest that made it hard to breathe.

"Steven I... no... it's okay... no it's not... we need to... just..."

Stevonnie pushed through the crowd, through the noise and thundering beat of the music. They covered their ears and the world around them seemed to spin and spin and spin, until a hand on their shoulder stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Hey." The friendly face, illuminated by the light of glowsticks and glow-in-the dark t-shirts, gave them a familiar, gentle smile, "You alright?"

"Um." Stevonnie wiped their eyes; it was hard to know which twin it was through the dark and through their tears, but the tone of their voice was enough to cue the fusion in. "I just... need to find a quiet corner."

"Here." Kiki took them by the hand, "I gotcha. I can take you up by the stage; it's less crowded there and Buck and Jen can take care of ya."

The sound of the familiar names made a sense of renewed calm wash over Stevonnie as they were lead through the crowd to the crowd to the, as promised, less-crowded stage. Sourcream was sitting on the stage, managing the music as he always did, while a stranger with an admittedly gorgous voice sang a rendition of the song Firework. Buck Dewey and Jenny were there too, as promised, both leaning on the counter and nodding along to the music as the latter had a conversation with the pale-faced Ronaldo.

"Come on, Ron! I'm sure you got a great voice! Get up there and sing!"

"I dunno." Ronaldo said hesitantly.

"Hey." Buck Dewey's voice was quiet, but more than enough to catch everyone's attention, "Look. Kiki's got a friend."

Sourcream looked up and smiled, leaving his station and jumping off of the stage to say, "Hey Stevonnie. Glad you could make it."

"Stevonnie?" Jenny said with grin, "Wow. I ain't ever heard that name before. I'm Jenny."

"I'm Buck Dewey."

"So." Jenny leaned back against the stage and gave her sister a knowing look. "How do you know my sis?"

"We just met." Kiki said in a similar tone.

"I'm sorry." Stevonnie said, "It's just... all the people and the noise..."

"Hey." Buck Dewey raised his hand, "Say no more miss."

Stevonnie flinched. "Actually... I um... go by they and them..."

"Oh." Buck Dewey stopped leaning and stood up straight, "Sorry, friend. Won't happen again."

"No sweat."

The stranger girl ended her song, and Sourcream took that as his cue to jump back on the stage and take the microphone for himself.

"Alright, alright! That Sunset Phonix and her rendition of Firework! Now, before we start in on requests, we have time for one more karoke!"

Jenny bumped her butt against Ronaldo. "Get up there and sing your heart out, Fryman!"

Ronaldo took a let out a breath and tried to jump on the stage, except he didn't quite make it up and had to do an awkward crawl to pull the rest of his body on.

"Um. E... excuse me, Kiki?"

Kiki turned to face them.

"Is there anything to eat?"

"Well sure there is! Want me to go get you some?"

"No, could you just uh, point me in the right direction?"

"Course I can. Just over there, sweetie." Kiki pointed off to the left.

"Thank you."

"Call if you need anything."

Stevonnie walked off. The thought of eating didn't really appeal to either of them, but neither did the thought of standing around doing nothing. If they could at least get used to the noise and the flashing lights and the crowds, maybe they could enjoy themselves. They just had to take it slow. The table laid out was plentiful with snacks of all kinds, and plates and cups of four matching colors, each one of them labled. Stevonnie read them slowly out loud.

"Pink is for single and searching... blue is for single and not interested... purple is for taken, but open to multiple partners... black is for taken and not open... huh. Nice layout."

Stevonnie picked up a blue plate and began to load it up with chips and pretzles before pouring themself a glass of sprite.

"Now we just gotta find somewhere quiet..."

Looking through the crowd, 'somewhere quiet' was easily spotted; in fact, it was lit up. An EXIT door, and Stevonnie made a beeline for it. Leaving the hot, stuffy building for the cool night air was the best choice they made that night, and they weren't the only one who made it. There was an older teenager leaning against the wall, with umber skin and dark brown hair so reflective Stevonnie could almost see their reflection in it. He was half way through huffing a cigarrette, but when he saw Stevonnie, he froze.

"Should you be smoking?"

The man grinned. "Should you be eating all that junk? Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty little body of yours."

Their hands went immediately down toward their stomach and they felt sick for two different reasons. Their food dropped to the ground, and a small part of them was saddened by the loss, but another part told them they could always get more. They immediately turned away from the stranger and tried to go back inside.

The door was locked.

A hand slammed down on one side of them, and Stevonnie spun around to come to face him.

"Hey baby. My name's Kevin. What's yours?"

Stevonnie tried to duck away, but Kevin was faster and stepped in front of them.

"What? So lost in my eyes you forgot your own name?" He brushed his hair back, "Happens all the time."

"Do I know you?" Stevonnie said suddenly, "You seem familiar..."

"Obviously not. I would've recognized someone like you, and _I'm_ unforgettable."

"No! I do know you! You're the guy that bought a watermelon from m... my brother, Steven. I saw you from inside the car wash."

"Oh." Kevin's smile turned into a scowl, "That thing came to life and tried to kill me!"

Stevonnie gave a slow laugh. "Hahaha yeah... we got a... lot of complaints about that."

"Hey, I should probably get back inside... it's getting pretty cold..." Stevonnie faked a shiver and rubbed their arms, "And my friends are gonna be wondering where I went, so..."

Kevin didn't stop them from leaving, but his eyes didn't leave them as they made their quick escape around the edge of the building. A sick feeling had grown in their stomach from the interaction, but they tried to push it away. This was meant to be a good experience, but so far it had been nothing but sour. They had to change it for the better. The first time was everything, and if the first time was bad, then so would all the other times they tried. They could still salvage the night, and when they entered the building again, the solution practically hit them in the face.

"Oh, I love this song!"

Stevonnie ran into the middle of the crowd, and the people faded away as the music took their place. The crowd, the people, the blurred faced. It would be enough to to make either of them flee if they were apart, but together they had something else to focus on: each other. Each others presence and comfort and reassurance that they weren't alone.

For the first few blissful moments, it could have almost worked. Them holding their own hand, spinning, kicking out a leg. Laughing and dancing and enjoying being _themselves_! But then the fragile harmony within them shattered. The people around them turned black. Inky shadows rising and falling and rising again, enclosing and entrapping. Closing in all around them like a sea of black, grabbing at them to drag them under.

The only way they could break the vison was to run through it. It was like they were running through a way that gave way to their pressure, and they left the wall behind them with all the other walls. Why did they go back inside? Why, why, _why_! They were fine when they were outside, they were _happy_ when they were outside. Their mind was clear when they were outside. Why weren't they _outside_? They _had_ to be outside!

Without the walls to hold them in an ever-tighter grip, air flowed freely into their lungs. Shadow monsters turned back human, trees rustled beside them and in front of them and all around them. They could breath, they could _see_. They could think.

"I don't understand what's wrong." They looked down at their hands, "You have fun dancing." They closed their fist. "But this dance _isn't_ fun! You're suppose to like this! Why- don't we like this. I wish you were here."

They crossed their arms around their own body and hugged themself.

"If we were together, it would be okay. But we are together!" Their body gave a jerk with the sudden burst of anger that was quick to simmer back down, "and it's not. I'm alone."

"Not tonight."

The voice made Stevonnie feel cold.

"Hey baby. Why'd you leave the dance floor?" He gave them a toothy grin, "You didn't even give me the chance to ask to join you."

Stevonnie turned their back and focused on the grass at their feet. "I don't want to dance anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

A hand grabbed Stevonnie's shoulder tight, fingers digging into flesh, and forced them to turn around.

"I saw you dancing. You and me? We could be the best thing to ever happen in this town. Let's go back inside and prove it."

"Please let go. You're hurting my shoulder."

"I'll let go if you dance with me."

Stevonnie pulled away, ignoring the pain that was left in the place where they had been grabbed. "Why should I?" They snarled out.

"Woah, woah!" Kevin took a step away from them, "I'm just asking for a dance. Don't get crazy."

"HEY!"

The one who shouted came running out of the warehouse, and for a second Stevonnie was seeing double as Jenny's twin was right behind. The two teens took a postion on either side of Stevonnie.

"Hey." Kevin looked and sounded annoyed. "We were having a moment."

"You okay, Vonnie?" Kiki asked gently.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

When Kevin tried to advance again, it was Jenny who stood between him and Stevonnie and Kiki. When Kevin tried to duck around, she didn't let him. She just kept blocking the way while Kiki took Stevonnie gently by the arm and lead her inside.

"No, no..." Stevonnie started to shake just at the thought of being trapped again, but Kiki just kept on walking and Stevonnie didn't try to resist. They were too shaky, too unstable. They knew what was going to happen seconds before it did, feeling themself split apart, fall apart. And then they were apart. There was Steven, and there was Connie, but there was no Stevonnie. Not anymore.

"_Steven_!"

Before Steven could stand, Connie was upon him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Connie!" Steven couldn't quite reach to return the hug, but he tried. "We... unfused."

"_Yo what the fuck?_"

They both turned to Kiki, looking scared beyond her wits and standing more than a few paces back. All Steven and Connie could do was laugh.


	29. Promise

Spinel and Pearl reappeared from the temple, holding the nephrite gemstone in a nearly-formed silver bubble.

"Alright Steven!" Pearl hummed, "This is one of the simpler ones you can practice on!"

She passed the bubble to Steven, and Steven looked past the milky-white barrier to the green gemstone inside. He could hear the faint calls of _no, no, please no!_ echoing over and over inside. He looked up at Pearl.

"Do I have to?"

Pearl put her hand on her hip. "Yes Steven. It is vital you learn to poof and bubble, and, rather than track a dangerous one out in the field, we have this one in a controlled area. I feel much more comfortable that way."

"But I don't wanna hurt it." Steven frowned, and looked up at Garnet when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It won't hurt it, Steven." Garnet promised.

"Do you feel it when you poof?"

"Oh yeah!" Amethyst gave a loud laugh, "It feels like you're set on fire, but sometimes it's like you've just been stabbed through the stomach cause, like, you've just been stabbed through the stomach!"

Pearl shot Amethyst a dangerous look. Steven grabbed at his own stomach, imagining a sword or a spear piercing through his gemstone, and how it would feel to not exist.

"I don't wanna! Pearl!"

"Steven." Pearl cooed, "These creatures don't feel pain. If anything, all they'll feel is a little pressure. Rose... had a weapon once, but she was more defense than offense, so when you're out there in the field, you won't have a weapon readily summonable."

"Then what do I use?"

"Your foot should work just fine!"

Steven flinched at the thought. _No, no, please no!_ "I don't..."

"Now Steven, listen close!" Pearl talked over him, "I want you to place your hands firmly on either side of the bubble."

Steven looked to Spinel, and the pink gem gave him a pitiful look. Steven did as Pearl said. "Alright now, just give it a little push and the bubble should give just fine."

Steven nodded, and looked down at the bubble in his shaking hands. The poor creature trapped inside, at his mercy, about to be given a taste of freedom only for him to, literally, stomp it out.

Steven popped the bubble, and the gemstone popped out. He caught it before it could hit the ground, and immediately the creature inside it began to reform. Very much line an insect, stretching into three segments curled up in Steven's hands. The gemstone disappeared inside the creatures mouth, and when she started to move it was to open her mandible and have a look around. Her eyes passed over the gems and she gave a cry, then she looked to Steven and she cried some more. The centipeetle curled up around herself, crying and shaking and squeaking. Steven could almost cry at the site.

"Okay Steven. Put it on the ground." Pearl instructed.

Steven didn't move. The poor thing was shaking, tiny black legs curled over her jaws to try and hide from the undoubtedly terrifying creatures surrounding her.

"Steven." Pearl said, this time with more force, "Put it on the ground."

"I can't!" Steven looked up at her, "Pearl, she's so tiny!"

The centipeetle uncurled and opened her mouth to look at Steven with her gem. Steven felt his heart flutter.

"Pearl! Her gem's her eye, Pearl! And it's in her mouth!"

"Steven-"

"She feels so scared." Steven held her close, "Pearl, I _can't_."

Pearl groaned her frustration and put a hand to her forehead. "Maybe I overestimated your ability. Give it to me, I'll dispose of it."

Pearl held out her hand for the creature, but Steven turned his back to her.

"No! Don't hurt her!"

"_It,_ Steven." Pearl corrected, "Don't hurt _it_."

"But you said gems were she's, and she has a gem!" Steven held out the animal to prove his point. "Garnet, please. Maybe I can help her!"

"Garnet, don't even consider that!" Pearl cried, "It's a monster! We need to bubble it immediately!"

"It's only a little one." Steven whimpered.

"It gets bigger."

"But she's little now! I can hold her in one hand."

"She won't be little for long." Pearl sighed and shook her head, "This is nonsense, just give it here!"

"You can keep it."

"What?!"

Pearl looked over at Garnet, and Garnet looked back at her with an unfaltering expression.

"I can't say no to that face. It's my one weakness."

"I hold the power!" Steven cheered, and then pet the little mutant in his hands, "And I hold a centipeetle."

Pearl groaned. "If you're going to keep that thing, at least call it by it's proper name: Nephrite."

"Come on!" Spinel interupted, "It's Steven's pet, Steven gets to name it!"

"And I name her Centi!"

Amethyst leaned down to get a better look at it. "Hi Centi!"

The centipeetle snapped and hissed, leaking a green slime from her jaws.

"Oo!" Amethyst leaned back, "That thing's gnarly!"

Steven laughed. "She's slobbery! Pearl, can I have a tissue?"

"Why does everyone assume I always have tissues?"

Steven stared. "Do you?"

Pearl sighed, reached into her gem, and produced a wipe.

"It's a Kleenex. Very different from a tissue."

Steven took the Kleenex and used it to wipe the spit off of Centi's chin; she hissed and pulled away, but Steven held her firm so he could clean it all.

"You're very slobbery."

"Ugh..." Pearl covered her mouth and turned away, "That's disgusting!"

"She's just scared." Steven hummed. "I think she'll be less gross when she's calmed down."

Everyone in the room gave a simultaneous flinch at a sudden crush, and then groaned when they realized where it had come from. Amethyst was sat on the counter, eating chips and watching. She shoved another handful into her mouth.

"What?" She spat crumbs as she talked, "I got bored!"

The precious creature in Steven's hand started to squeak, and when he looked down at her, still gently wiping the green ooze from her mouth, he saw her jaws parted and her one eye staring. Staring at Amethyst. Her long mane of white laid flat, and she began to vibrate, almost purr.

"Amethyst, give me those chips!"

Amethyst swallowed her mouthful, looked down at the bag, and then tossed it over to Steven. Steven caught it barely in one hand, and the Nephrite's eye never left the bag. Once Steven had grabbed it, she spun around to keep her sight, and lowered her head.

"Here! Have some!" Steven opened the bag at an awkward angle and held it out for the centipede.

The creature lunged for the bag, but then stopped and whined, her eye searching.

"It's okay." Steven shook the bag and clicked his tongue, "Go on."

The centipeetles movements were like a wild animal, scared and lost and confused, yet so drawn to the food before her that she couldn't help herself. She crawled over Steven's hand and ducked her head into the bag, sniffing and smelling at the salty contents before she took a bite. And then another. And another.

Pearl gagged. "That thing's messier than Amethyst!"

"Go little dude!" Amethyst cheered. "Eat to your heart's content!"

Pearl looked closer, and then her eyes widened as she gasped. "Woah. I didn't know corruptions could still shapeshift. That's interesting..."

The corruption was too busy chowing down to care, leaving crumbs and green ooze every time she bit down.

"She must have made an esophagus that bypassed her gem, it's the only way I can see her being able to swallow. I wonder if she made an entire digestive track, or just a straight line... hmm... I suppose we'll find out in a few hours."

"That's gross." Steven laughed, "Guess she really likes chips."

"Yeah," Amethyst tucked her arms behind her head, "And I guess I ain't getting any more."

A tongue popped out of Nephrite's jaws and lapped up the spit-soaked crumbs.

"And a tongue!" Pearl's disgust had turned to sheer fascination, "They might be more intelligent than we initially thought!"

"Don't need to be smart to know how to eat." Spinel said. "Amethyst eats all the time."

"Yeah." Amethyst hesitated, "Wait! Hey!"

Spinel fell into laughter.

Steven reached into the near-empty bag and pulled the creature out by her tail.

"You were really hungry, huh?"

She licked her mouth with a green tongue and gave a low, rumbling sound.

"You're still hungry aren't you...?" Steven risked a gentle pat on her head, "Don't worry, Amethyst is always eating too!"

The nephrite whined, and bit at the bag.

"There is no more." Steven showed his friend the bag, and she huffed and kicked it away one she realized it was absent of anything besides her own green spit. "Aw, don't be like that."

"I can't believe it..." Pearl's voice was soft, "Garnet, are you...?"

She went silent. Steven looked up and saw Garnet staring at him, more stoic than usual even for her. The celtipeetle crawled up Steven's arm and wrapped around his neck like a snake.

"Interesting." Garnet said softly, "Pearl, Spinel, a word."

Garnet walked away, and the two named gems followed after her. Amethyst waved her arms.

"What am I? Dead weight?"

Garnet paused and turned around. "No. You watch Steven."

"Can do." Amethyst turned around to face Steven, "Wazzup my man?"

"The ceiling."

Steven and Amethyst both laughed.

"Wow." Amethyst whistled, "That thing's just kinda dangling there, huh?"

"She's not a thing!" Steven objected, "She's friendly."

"Right. I'm gonna go get a sandwich." As Amethyst worked on her sandwich, she continued to talk. "What do you think they're talking about?"

Steven shrugged, and reached up to pet his friend. "Dunno. Probably something to do with Centi."

"Can't believe she's so tame!" Amethyst closed the door with her hips and totted over to the counter, "I mean, I've never seen any corrupted that wasn't... you know." Amethyst snapped her teeth a few times.

"She's small, and we're really big." Steven ran his fingers through her mane of white, "She's just a baby."

"No man, _you're_ just a baby. That _thing_ is thousands of years old! Even older than me!" Amethyst grabbed her plate and marched over to Steven, "Hey, check it out! I think she's smiling at me."

Steven looked at the creature, but he didn't see a smile; he saw a snarl. The corruption pulling her lips back in a vicious snarl, the saliva dripping from her maw and to the floor, burning holes wherever they touched. Her hair spiked up, and she stood up, her claws digging deep into Steven's shoulder.

"OW! CENTI!"

Centi gave a grunting grow, then there was a rumbling inside her throat before she spat a mouthful of her venom at Amethyst, and missed. It instead hit Amethyst's plate and knocked her sandwich to the ground.

"NO!" Amethyst fell to her knees, "_MI TORTA_!"

Amethyst's wail quickly ended, and she scooped the sandwich off the ground, proceeding to eat it as if nothing had happened. Steven was quick to grab the centipeetle before she could spit again.

"She didn't mean it! I think you upset her!"

Garnet, Pearl, and Spinel ran back into the room. Pearl's eyes immediately fell on Amethyst and her fallen lunch.

"Steven!"

Pearl's voice only upset the centipeetle further, and Steven held her closer to save Pearl from the same fate as Amethyst's sandwhich.

"This is completely unacceptable."

"You're upsetting her!"

Pearl summoned her spear and walked toward Steven and his pet with dangerous intent. "I knew this was a bad idea!"

"Stop!"

Pearl didn't stop. She struck at the creature, but Centi was faster and pulled out of Steven's desperate grasp. She fell all the way to the floor and landed with a harsh thud, rolling almost to a stop before she got her feet under her in just enough time to dodge another one of Pearl's attacks.

"Pearl." Garnet warned, but Pearl didn't seem to hear her.

Centipeetle jumped on the couch, and then off again and running until Spinel cut her off and stretched out her hands to try and catch the poor creature. She missed, and the centipeetle jumped on her arms and ran all the way to her shoulder to jump off of the elevted position and dig her claws into the wall. She started to climb, but Amethyst summoned her whip and cracked it, cutting off the corrupted escape path and making her loose all of her progress and fall back to the ground. From there, Pearl forced her into a corner.

Centi curled up her body into a tight ball, agitated grunts and growls sounding all around her as she shook. She readied another attack as Pearl approached slowly, and as Amethyst and Spinel joined her in the assault.

"No!" Steven was able to duck under Pearl's legs and get into a position to protect centipeetle, holding out his arms and crouching beside her. "She didn't mean it!"

"Steven!" Pearl pointed her weapon only inches from Steven's eyes and threatened to get even closer, "Out of the way!"

Steven opened his mouth to shout his disapproval, but all that came out was a pained scream as powerful jaws latched around his forearm from behind. Steven leaped up from where he crouched and continued to scream, and the first time he flailed his arms was the only time he needed to. The corruption let go on the first swung and was tossed across the room, slamming hard into the kitchen counter. She hit her head.

"Centi!"

The creature exploded in a cloud of dust, and her gemstone clinked to the ground.

"No..." Steven held his injury close to his chest.

"Steven!" Steven was yanked up by Pearl, and his arm was pulled away from him, "Let me see!"

Pearl frowned. She pulled up Steven's sleeve, not that there was much to pull up, and narrowed her eyes. She rubbed her hand all across St3even's arm, growing more and more frantic as she found nothing. Spinel peeked over Pearl and her eyes searched all the same.

"Steven... did the monster bite you?"

"Yeah... it _really_ hurt." That was the last thing on his mind. He craned his neck to see Amethyst picking up the gemstone. "Careful!"

"There's no mark here!" Pearl pulled him even closer, as if that would make the difference, "Nothing at all."

"Then let me go!" Steven pulled away from her, ran around her, and snatched the gemstone from Amethyst.

Amethyst tossed her hand up in surrender. "Just picking it up, dude."

"Centi..."

Steven turned the green and black gemstone in his hands, staring at the poor creature, his poor creature, trapped inside. "No..." Warmth trickled down his face and he didn't try to stop it.

"Steven."

A large, gentle hand was placed on Steven's shoulder.

"Garnet... Centi poofed." Steven held up the gemstone as proof.

"I know." Garnet lowered her head, "You did a good job trying to tame her. Your mother would be so proud."

Steven sniffled. "She would?"

Garnet sighed softly, and she picked Steven up, letting him sit on one of her forearms so they could talk face-to-face.

"Steven, Rose once tried to heal these creatures. Not in the same manner as you, but with her tears. She grieved over them, but she was never able to heal them."

"Never...?" Steven held Centipeetle's gemstone to his chest, "But... if she couldn't do it..."

Garnet gently wiped the tears from Steven's face.

"Up until today, no one has tried to tame them as you have," Pearl said, "Maybe when you have better control of your powers, you might be able to help them in ways Rose never even thought possible!"

"Even this one..." Garnet gently tapped the nephrite gemstone.

"Here, Steven..." Spinel reached for the gemstone, "I promise I'll be carful with her."

"No!" Steven turned his back on Spinel and used his body to protect the precious gem. "I'll keep her safe..."

He looked down at her in his hands, and he wanted to protect her. He _needed_ to! She needed to be safe and protected and warm and _content_. She needed protection, even in her gem. Even when she wasn't ready to be out yet. She just needed _time_, and _he_ needed time.

A pink bubble entrapped her safely, protecting her within. Four gasps surrounded him, but Steven ignored them, and he ignored the words they said.

"Wait for me, Centi. I'll heal you one day... I _promise."_


	30. April fools

Steven was running as fast as his short legs could carry him. The sand slowed him down, hot on his sandal-less feet, and he had to push himself even harder to gain enough ground from the monster chasing him. She was getting close, he could hear her footsteps on the sand even faster than his and gaining fast. He had to go faster, to escape the grasping hands, but when he leaned forward to try and escape the touch, he fell. Sand went into his mouth, under his tongue and down his throat and choking the breath out of him. He eyes stung from the same fate, and he could barely see his purple and white double when he turned around and held his arms up in defense.

"NO!"

Amethyst laughed and reached down to tag Steven, and Steven almost gave himself up. But then came his savior, and he was pulled to the safety atop the cliff.

"No man left behind!" Spinel cheered.

"YEAH!" Steven whooped, "Take that, Amethyst!"

Spinel turned her back to Steven and her hands started to move comically fast, the sounds of rubber coming from nowhere as she worked her magic. Steven tried to sneak a peek at her work, but before he could, Spinel spun back around holding a pink balloon-sword. She kneeled before Steven and held out the sword to him.

"Blessed be, brave soldier! Save us from the invasion of the Touch-and-Grabby Body snatchers!"

Steven grabbed the sword and held it to the skies. "Never again shall a body be touched and grabbed away by the evil fiend! A shall slay this mighty monster and save all of Beach City!"

"Delmarva thanks you for your brave and honorable service, most noble Steven!"

Steven brandished the sword, and pointed it down at Amethyst. "Prepare to be slain, body snatcher!"

Amethyst, as identical to Steven as his own reflection, held out her arms. "Come at me dude."

"I will!" Steven jumped off the cliff. He let himself fall for a distance, feeling the wind blow all around him, messing his hair and stinging his gem, before he willed himself to fall slower, kicking out his legs until he felt them touch the sand and was immediately able to jump back away from Amethyst's touch.

"Back, monster!"

"Stop."

Steven stopped and looked at Pearl. She was on the porch with her arms crossed, staring down at them.

"Your form is all wrong!" She tip-toed down the steps and to Steven's side, snatching the balloon sword from him and falling naturally into a fight position, "You're going to get yourself killed."

She struck a few blows at the Steven-shaped Amethyst.

"Pearl." Steven whined, "I was just playing."

"That's no excuse for bad formation! If you have time to play, you have time to practice. Now observe." Pearl jabbed at Amethyst's gemstone. "If you're attacking a gem straight on, don't go for their gemstones. Most times that will end with your failure. Instead..." Pearl readjusted her sword so it poked Amethyst's stomach. "Search for more open area to damage. For example, if I was trying to defeat Amethyst, her stomach would be a good bet. But if I were trying to beat you..."

Pearl was in front of Steven in a flash, and the balloon was against his chest.

"I would go for your much more open and exposed chest."

"Well what if I was attacking you?"

"Then either works; chest or stomach. If you are unable to get to either, the neck and back would be your next best bets."

"Stomach, chest, neck, and back."

"That's right, Steven. No matter how big the gem is, they'll still poof with enough damage."

"Pearl!" Spinel stepped down off the cliff, stretching one leg all the way down before pulling the rest of her along, "You ruined our game!"

"No, I am simply improving it with proper stance and battle techniques."

"It's a game, Pearl, not battle practice!"

"Well, what if you were to be attacked by a monster, and Garnet and I weren't here?"

"I'll pound it with my mallet! And Amethyst has her whip."

"But what if it attacked Steven?"

"He could bubble himself!"

"And trap himself!" Pearl pointed out, "Without any means of escape!"

"You think he'd be able to defend himself with a rubber balloon sword?" Spinel sounded bored with the whole situation.

"Well, no. But once we find him a proper weapon, he will be able to!"

"So let's train him when he has a proper weapon!" Spinel said, "Honestly, Pearl, what's gotten into you?"

"Oh, she's just grouchy cause I got her good this morning!" Amethyst threw back her head in a laugh.

"What do you mean?" Steven asked her.

Pearl put her hand on her hip. "Amethyst here thought it would just be so funny to drop a gallon of paint on my head this morning."

Steven and Spinel both snickered.

"I had to spend hours washing it out!"

"Oh, Pearl." Steven tried to stifle his laughter, "That's so sad."

"That's nothing!" Amethyst exclaimed, "I have much more in store for you."

"Ugh! Are we really doing this again?"

"Pearl, humans have one day a year dedicated to pranking, and I'm going to take advantage of it!"

"Of all the childish nonsense." Pearl gave the balloon roughly over to Steven and started to walk away.

Spinel saw her opening, reached into her gem, and motioned for Amethyst and Steven to shush. From the heart she pulled a snowball, and then shouted.

"Hey Pearl! You forgot this!"

Pearl turned around and the snowball hit her right on the gem.

"Ugh!" Pearl wiped the icy water from her gemstone, "Why would you do that!"

"Haha!" Spinel pointed, "Sucker!"

Pearl stomped her feet. "I'm telling Garnet!"

With that, she stomped away up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. With Pearl out of the way, everyone retook their positions to continue their game.

* * *

Spinel was in the kitchen making dinner, the games of that day still dancing around her mind as she hummed and sliced the carrots for her stew. At first, the humming was just that; wordless and simple. Then lyrics started to filter into her head to match the tune and she couldn't help but sing them aloud.

_"Go down to the ocean. The Crystal Tide is rising. The water's gotten higher as the shore washes out._" She closed her eyes to feel the song and it's meaning wash through her, a familiar sting rising in her gemstone. "_Keep your eyes wide open even when the sun is blazing. The moons controls the tides it can cause you to drown..._"

Spinel stopped singing. She cut the carrot once more, blinking slowly and glancing over her shoulder at the one-gem audience that had gathered.

"If this is about this morning, no I will not apologize. Play dumb games, win dumb prized. Or, in this case, interrupt games and you're gonna get hit in the head with a snowball."

Pearl's initial reaction was to huff, but she held the annoyance silently inside her. "It's not about that! Well, not completely."

Spinel scrapped the rest of the vegetables into the bubbling pot and started to wash her hands. "Then what do you want?"

"I want to prank Amethyst."

Spinel stopped her scrubbing. The cold water washed over her hands, pooling at the bottom of the sink as it washed away the rest of the bubbles and slowly drained. "You want to prank Amethyst?" Spinel repeated. Slowly, she turned around.

"Well, yes! It's about time Amethyst got a taste of her own medicine!" Pearl reasoned, wringing her hands "And maybe teach her that I do not appreciate being the center of her little pranks."

"So... why tell me?" Spinel asked, "How do you know I'm not just gonna run off and tell her?"

"Because I know you! You love a good prank just as much as Amethyst! With your experience and my knowledge, we should be able to pull off a decent prank easy!"

Spinel gave a half-laugh and turned her back to the Crystal Gem. "Pass."

"What?!" Pearl was genuinely shocked, "But... but I asked so _nicely_! You have to help me!"

"The only thing I have to do right now is get dinner done for Steven."

"But I wouldn't know where to start by myself! I'm not a prankster!"

"_Wow_." Spinel whistled, "That uh, that honestly sounds like a _you_ problem. And would _you_ look at it? _I'm_ not _you_."

"Please, Spinel!" Pearl grabbed Spinel by the shoulder, and Spinel was quick to turn around, "I don't ask for much! Just this quick, little favor to get back at Amethyst! Please!"

Pearl was practically on her knees begging. Spinel felt the smallest twinge of sympathy and a rush of embarrassment at the pearl bowed before her.

"Okay, okay, just get off the floor!"

Pearl stood up. "You'll help me then?" Her eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Yeah." Spinel put the cutting knife in the sink. "Let's get to work."

* * *

The van was almost perfect. Flawlessly repaired from whatever pieces they could get from the wreckage, and all the rest so generously 'found' by Garnet. Greg's motions were extra carful when it came to washing his newly-repaired baby. Steven, while he had initially offered to help with the cleaning, was now running for his life from the cold sprouts of water that Amethyst shot at him through the hose, laughing as she terrorized the young boy into laughing too.

"Remind me to thank Pearl for fixing her up." Greg called, "She's never been this perfect!"

Steven ran past again, soaked down to the skin with the freezing water. The unrelenting Amethyst wasn't far behind.

"Come here human boy! Feel the wrath of my waterfall!"

"No! Amethyst, stop!" Steven laughed the words out, and continued to run around the darkened pavement.

"Hey Stew-ball!" Greg called, "Mind running over by the van for a second?"

Greg had the sense to step out of the line of fire as Steven turned to run by the van and Amethyst continued her assault, just barely missing Steven and spraying down the van instead.

"Thanks, Stu!" Greg called after him, and then started to rub down the spots he had missed, "She's gonna be clean in no time! Guess there uh... no reason to keep staying with you, huh?"

The sudden sadness radiating from his father made Steen stop in his tracks, ignoring the imminent soaking he would get, and did get. Amethyst howled her laughter as she water struck Steven's back, and as she walked closer to Steven, the water's pressure increased.

"You can still come visit!" Steven said; Amethyst, bored with Steven's lack of running, started to spray the water into the air so it would shower down on them like rain.

Greg smiled and looked back at him. "All the extra terrestrial in the universe couldn't keep me away, Steven."

"Dude." Amethyst said, "I'm right here."

"But you're not a threat!" Steven objected, "You're Amethyst!"

"And you're not technically extra terrestrial either, right?" Greg asked, "I mean, you were made on earth."

"Yeah." Amethyst dropped the hose and started to wiggle her fingers in a playful-threatening manner, "By our evil alien overlords!"

Everyone laughed at that, including Amethyst.

"Yeah, but you're not evil Amethyst." Steven took Amethyst by her hands and smiled up at her, "You're my family."

For a moment, a warmth radiated from the purple gem. Her eyes went wide, her smile disappeared, and she returned the gentle stare that Steven had given her. Then she blinked, and the warmth was gone and her smile was back. She scoffed and gave Steven a gentle shove that sent him stumbling back a few steps.

"Don't be sappy, dude!"

"I can't help it!" Steven laughed, "I just care too much!"

"Would any of you lovelies like a cold beverage?"

Everyone turned to Pearl. Her eyes were closed and there was a wide smile on her face as she offered a plate of three glasses of lemonade. Steven went to grab one almost immediately, but Pearl was quick to pull the glasses out of his reach.

"Aw! Pearl!"

"This is one is yours, Steven." Pearl picked one of the glasses and gave it to Steven.

"But I wanted that one!" Steven pointed to another glass, the one that had caught his eye in the first place.

"Well you get this one." Pearl walked to Greg and gave him a glass. "This one's yours, Greg."

"Hey, thanks!" Greg looked down at the cup before he took a drink.

Steven saw what his dad did and he did the same, finding nothing, and so he took a sip of the sweet juice. Amethyst didn't wait for Pearl to offer, and simply jumped up to take the remaining glass, chugging it all in one swing while Pearl watched with a strange grin on her face. Half way through her impatient swallowing, Amethyst's expression changed. Her eyelids drooped in a bored fashion, her smile was gone again, and she had the look of someone who had just lost their will to live. Not a quitter, she swallowed the rest of the mouthful and smacked her lips together, looking down at the empty glass with that same look on her face.

"What's wrong, Amethyst?" Steven asked.

"Mine tastes good." Greg added, taking another drink to prove it.

Amethyst hiccuped, and a bubble came out of her mouth. "Huh. Soap." She licked her lips, and then bit into the cup, chewing up the shattered glass and swallowing it before doing the same with what remained. She burped. "Thanks Pearl!"

Pearl's mouth dropped. Amethyst patted her on the back and then tucked into a dash, speeding away before another word could be said. Pearl turned to face the other's gems path of escape, still gawking.

"What in the universe!"

"Uh, hello." Greg raised a finger, "I can assure you Amethyst has never been in me."

Pearl flashed a dangerous look at him.

"Was..." The words felt strange on Steven's tongue when they were adressed to Pearl, "Was that a prank?"

"It was meant to be!" Pearl cried out.

Greg snickered, and Pearl stared at him like a cat stared at a mouse.

"And just _what_ is so funny?!" She demanded.

Greg gave a few more snickers before saying. "Not very affective."

Then Steven and Greg both were laughing, while color rushed into Pearl's face.

"Well it was good for a first try wasn't it?" Pearl asked.

"You don't try and prank a master on the first try!" Greg said, "You start off small and work your way up!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"

"I dunno, common sense?"

Pearl scoffed. "Well, I followed Spinel's plan perfectly. I don't understand how it could have gone wrong!"

"Sorry Pearl." Steven said, "But it looks like _you're_ the one who got pranked."

* * *

Pearl found Spinel by the river, crouched down by the bank. At her approach, a tiny salamander skittered back into the water and dashed away. Spinel looked at Pearl and grinned.

"Pearl! How'd the prank go?"

"Awful!" Pearl wailed, throwing her hands up in the air, "She didn't even flinch!"

"Hmm." Spinel brought her hand to her mouth. "Strange. She hate's lemon soap."

"I should have known this would never work!" Pearl huffed and crossed her arms, "What was I thinking, trying to prank Amethyst ofr all people!"

"Relax, Pearl!" Spinel put her hand on Pearl's shoulder, "Not every prank's gonna be a winner. We can just try again."

"But she's going to be expecting it now! It's no use!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way! A good pranks a good prank, especially if it's random. You need to just keep trying on a non-scheduled schedule. Not anything that could hurt her, but something to make her question her very existence."

"Like what?"

"Well, last year Amethyst pranked Vidalia by slowly replacing her family portraits with pictures of frogs."

Pearl sniggered.

"Of course, Vidalia eventually found out, but the prank went on for a few weeks. And the year before that she put hundreds of random stuffed animals all over my room! I'm still finding some to this day! Now that's a good prank."

"So you're saying I should buy a few hundred stuffed animals?"

"No! I'm saying be random! Plan to not have a plan!"

"What? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Exactly!" Spinel booped Pearl on the nose. "Random!"

* * *

"Yo who the fuck left a hundred ass wipes in my room?"

Spinel nearly choked on her hot chocolate. "What?" Spinel looked to Pearl, "Why?"

"Because it's _random_!" Pearl declared, doing a little dance, "And it makes her react like that! Oh, also, I'm going to need that toilet back as well. It's for Steven."

"You've got enough butt wipes in that gem of yours to fill the Grand Canyon that is your ass crack!" Amethyst spat back, "You got _all_ the crack, _no_ ass!"

Spinel tried to stop her laughter but it didn't work and she didn't care.

"How did you even get in my room?!"

Pearl looked at Garnet, and then everyone was looking at Garnet. The gem was sat back against a counter, her arms crossed and her visors reflecting the scene. "I like chaos."

Pearl grinned and leaned down to Amethyst's height. "I was granted a temporary pass into your room?"

"What?! No fair! Garnet!" Amethyst turned to Garnet and stuck out her arms.

Garnet simply stared.

"Ugh! Forget it!" For an instant, Amethyst's hair spiked up, but then it laid flat again, "Just stay out of my room!"

Amethyst ran back to the temple door, slamming it shut behind her as she disappeared into her slightly-less-of-a-mess room. Pearl turned to Spinel, a smile on her face and warm emotions brewing in her gemstone.

"Oh that was so exciting! I can't wait to do another one!"

"I dunno Pearl." Spinel seemed much more hesitant, much more sympathetic. "She seemed pretty upset."

"Well now she knows how I feel when she pranks me!"

"I guess." Spinel frowned, "How much did you spend on that toilet paper anyway?"

"Too much." Pearl admitted.

"Man, Greg's gonna hate you."

"And it will have been worth it to see the expression on Amethyst's face! Now what's next?!"

"That's up to you I guess."

"You're... not going to help me?" Pearl felt a strange sadness and she didn't know why.

"I figured you'd just stop after one good one, but whatevs. Just stay out of her room, okay? You know how she gets when people mess with her stuff." Spinel patted Pearl on the back and departed for her room.

* * *

Amethyst, Spinel, and Steven were all glad to return home after an afternoon of fun at Funland; there had been a vendor there and Steven, after a few minutes of begging, had gotten a rainbow snow cone and he was enjoying every second of it. His tongue was colored red, and his mouth was cold, but he refused to stop every time he tasted the sweet syrup. He held Spinel's hand for no true reason other than the fact that he could and she was right there.

At the same time they opened the front door, the door to the temple opened. Amethyst's door. The small group stopped at the doorway.

Pearl came out of the room, dressed in a hazmat suit (she looked hilarious wearing something other than her normal clothes) and holding a pile of assorted junk far away from her body.

"HEY!"

Steven flinched at the violence in the purple gem's voice.

"That's my junk!"

Amethyst ran forward, trying to pull the pile out of Pearl's arms. The force of both gems pulling in opposite directions sent the pile flying upward, and bits and pieces of it landed all around the room.

"Ugh! _Amethyst_!" Pearl scolded, pulling off the helmet of her suit so she could be heard "Now I have to disinfect everything!"

Pearl's words meant nothing. Amethyst was scrambling around the room, dashing to the first scrap she saw and beaming it into her gem before she dashed off to the next, and the next, and the next. Steven tried to run over to help, but Spinel stuck out her arm to keep him in place.

Pearl leaned down to pick up an old, stained shirt, but Amethyst was faster. She slammed into Pearl, hard enough for her to have to stumble a few feet back to regain her balance as Amethyst saved the old shirt in her gem. Then she was up on her feet and walking fast toward Pearl. Her teeth grew sharp and pointed like an animal's, and her eyes and aura flashed with violence.

"What were you doing in my room, Pearl?!"

"_Cleaning_!" Pearl said promptly, "Or at least, trying to. Hardly made a dent in that mess of yours..."

Violence turned to a numbing fear. "You cleared out more?!"

Before Pearl could answer, Amethyst was gone.

"Why would you do that Pearl?" Steven asked the pale gem.

"Because it was filthy in there!" Pearl argued.

"_IT'S NOT YOUR ROOM_!" Steven looked at Spinel and Spinel looked at Steven as their words matched perfectly.

Pearl gasped, and stuck up her nose. "Well I'm sorry if I have some standards for upkeep in my temple."

"Not your temple, either." Spinel muttered.

Amethyst came back out of the temple, not running, not yelling, but practically dissipating with evil intent. "Where it is?"

"Where is what?" Pearl asked innocently.

"My _stuff_, Pearl!" Amethyst took another, heavy step closer.

"I disposed of all that waste." Pearl dismissed.

"Where?"

Steven felt a sudden rush of fear all his own seeing Amethyst's nails turn almost into claws.

"I'm not telling you."

Amethyst was practically upon Pearl now, and she stuck a clawed finger against Pearl's chest. "My stuff wasn't yours to trash!"

"That garbage needed to go! And now you have much more space for better things!"

"It wasn't just trash! It was memories!" Amethyst blinked, and tears began to fall, "What made you think that was okay?!"

"Oh, get over yourself!" Pearl spoke in a condescending tone, dismissing all of Amethyst's words, "You can just get more."

"But that was _my_ garbage!" Amethyst smacked her chest, "In _my_ room! What if I went into your room and left garbage everywhere, huh?"

The tears were falling faster than ever, staining her face and staining the floor where they fell. The tear trails were a dark indigo, almost black against Amethyst's skin, but when Steven tried to run to comfort her, Spinel didn't let him. She held his hand in a vice like grip, her eyes glossed and staring at something that wasn't truly there.

"_Amy_..." She whispered softly.

Amethyst screwed her eyes shut, wiped them dry, but didn't open them again. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Amethyst ran on all fours, out of the house and, once she ignited her true speed, out of sight.


	31. Announcement!

Hello all you wonderful readers! Today, this story has reached 100 followers, making it the most popular story I've ever written! As a reward for all you lovely people, I will be creating another story directly attached to this world, and I'm letting you decide between the two options! Both will be written eventually, updated on a bi-weekly Basis, but one of these will be uploaded earlier than I intended! The choices are:

Lars in the Stars - As it's easy to assume, Lars in the Stars would focus directly around Lars' adventures in space with the off-colors, starting off from the moment Steven leaves them for earth. It will feature more space adventures, character arcs involving all the off colors, and details on their adventure through space back to earth.

Or...

Inside their Minds: This story would focus on all the corrupted gems; each chapter would be dedicated to one of the corrupted; their life, their downfall. Their friends and families and backstories, and their healing process as well as where they go with their newfound freedom.

Both stories would include chances to feature your own OC's in scenes, chances to choose where the story goes next, and chances to win art of your characters!

You can vote on which story you want either by commenting or messaging me directly. The vote will stay open until next Monday, giving you all six days to choose which story you'd like to see.

Have fun! And see you this Saturday for the next chapter: here's a hint, it's titled "I'm Sorry"


	32. I'm sorry

"Steven!"

Steven woke up to his name being called in the darkness, and to a suffocating weight on his chest. A familiar shaped shadow loomed over him.

"Oops, sorry dude. Forgot you need to breath."

Amethyst got off of his chest, and air immediately flowed through Steven's body to release the rising pressure. He sucked in a few, short breaths.

"Amethyst!" He sat up and turned on his lamp light. Amethyst was grinning at him widely, and there was a strange happiness raidating off of her. Bubbling and growing stronger by the second, so much so that the energy exploded into clear view in her wide, owl-like eyes.

"Wanna do something fun?"

"Amethyst are you okay? I haven't seen you since you ran off!"

"It's something really cool!" Amethyst started to pull Steven out of bed, "You gotta see!"

"Pearl was really mean to you!" Steven pulled his hands away, "Amethyst, please tell me you're okay! Spinel's trying to find your stuff."

"Forget about that, Steven!" Amethyst said, and she was suddenly behind Steven and pushing him out of the bed, "You really gotta see this!"

Steven stumbled out at Amethyst's command, barely able to get his feet under his body before Amethyst had him by the hand and was leading him down the stairs and to the warp pad.

"But Amethyst," He objected, "It's the middle of the night!"

"So what?!"

"So Pearl's gonna get mad!" Steven tried to pull away again, but Amethyst's grip was solid and unrelenting, "You don't feel right! Maybe you should talk to Garnet?"

Amethyst groaned. "Ugh! That three-eyed know it all? _Please_! I'm _fine_!" The happiness flashed to an anger that seemed to sear Steven like fire until the cool nature returned just as quick, "So let's go!"

They were warping. Through the infinity, just the two of them, holding onto each other until they arrived at the destination Amethyst had set in her mind.

It wasn't anything Steven expected it to be. Instead of grass beneath his feet he found dirt as Amethyst pulled him off of the warp pad, and instead of flowers or life of any kind he saw stone. Gray, dead rock and dry soil void of everything, even weeds. Everywhere he looked, rocks of all sizes and shapes and in all different places. On both side he was surrounded by looming, rocky walls each carved with the same pattern of holes. Massive, bulking, almost human-shaped holes spreading all the way to the top, and scattered across the walls, dozen's of metallic, ominous machines clinging to the stone.

Amethyst immediately let of of Steven and ran on all fours through the dirt, laughing and cheering and rolling around in it as if it were pure gold.

"Amethyst, what is this place?"

Amethyst didn't immediately respond. She continued to roll and laugh and cover herself in the earth for a minute more before she finally sat up, her hair sticking out at every odd angle.

"According to Pearl? Hell on earth! But to me?" Amethyst took a deep breath, "It's home."

"Home?" Steven worked over to her, his eyes scanning the ground whatever she saw that had made her so giddy. All he saw was brown with some patches of gray where the rocks were sprinkles. "But this isn't the temple?"

"Uh." Amethyst smacked her lips together, "You know how you used to live with Greg in his van?"

"Yeah?"

"This is my van! And those are my windows!" She pointed to the holes, "Those are my seats!" She pointed to a large pile of rocks. "This is _my_ van!"

"Your... van?"

"My van! My abode! My home! My _kindergarten_!"

"What's a kindergarten?"

"It's where gems are made! Here! Come here!" Amethyst grabbed Steven by his arm and pulled him along to a tiny, ground-level hole. "Recognize anything?"

Steven squinted. "No, not really..."

"Come on, dude!" Amethyst let go of him and motioned to the hole. "It's me sized!" She walked backward into the hole and, as promised, her body fit inside it like a puzzle piece; the only part that didn't quite fit was her hair, which was forced to fold around the rest of her body to not be left behind. "It's mah hole! The hole I was made in!"

Steven gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, five hundred years too late, but I still came out! It's where I spent by first hundred years, dude! It smells just like I remember it..."

"You were alone here for a hundred years?" A sadness grew in Steven's chest.

"Yup!" Amethyst had the exact opposite reaction as Steven, "Until Spinel found me and convinced Rose to let me in! Before then I was just a lowly gem living in a lonely world. And now I'm a Crystal Gem! It's amazing, isn't it?"

She stepped out of her hole so Steven could get a better look at it, peering inside the darkness and looking at the thin, rounded walls. "If this is your hole then..." He pulled his head back out, "Then... what about those?"

He looked up at the hundreds and hundreds of holes just like Amethyst's, only bigger. Amethyst's giddy excitement was overrun with a sudden, suffocating sadness.

"Oh. _Those_ ones. Those were the ones that came before me."

Steven tried to smile, but couldn't hide the fear that Amethyst would see through it, and see into their shared sadness. "Were they nice?"

Amethyst shrugged sluggishly. "Dunno. Never met em. They were long gone by the time I got out."

"So... you were alone..."

Amethyst looked away. "It wasn't that bad. I had this rock!" Amethyst pounced on a nearby rock and hugged it, "And that rock there, and that one too." She pointed to two more rocks farther down.

"I dunno..." Steven dug his foot in the dry earth, "It sounds kinda sad."

"Sad?" Amethyst's cloud of emotion lifted, "No man! Those were the best days of my _life_! No one to tell me what to do or when to do it. What I did, I did cause I wanted to! When I wanted to eat, I ate, and when I wanted to sleep, I sleeped!"

"I think it's slept."

"And I think Pearl's rubbing off on you." Amethyst booped Steven on the nose. "Plus I didn't have to worry about anyone touching my things!"

"Um." Steven looked around at the wasteland. "_What_ things?"

"Ya know. They're _around_." Amethyst gasped suddenly and dashed off, pushing off the ground and gliding effortlessly into one of the higher holes, "Like here!"

The hole was much bigger than she was, and much wider; it would have easily fit two or three of her inside . She came back out holding a small, shimmering rock and jumped back down to Steven.

"It's a geode!"

Steven reached out to touch the white crystals, but Amethyst turned her back to him and cradled the stole like a most precious possession.

"No touching!"

Steven retracted his hand. "_Sorry_!"

Amethyst immediately forgot the interaction and turned back around to show off her treasure. "I found it when I was digging!"

"Why were you digging?"

"Uh, cause I _wanted_ to! Duh!" She put her hands on her hips and looked off into the distance, almost into the past. "I dug a lotta holes, man. Oh!"

Amethyst put the geode in her gem and ran off again; Steven was starting to get used to it. This time, it was into one of the holes on the ground floor. When she returned, she was holding something dusty and white that made Steven take a step back as his mind worked to process what it was.

"Is that a skull?!"

Amethyst put her hand inside the human skull like a puppet to make it's jaw move as if it were talking. "My name is !" Amethyst made her voice high pitched and added a British accent as she started to walk slowly toward Steven, "And I am _so_ happy to see you!"

"Amethyst!" Steven started to run, already anticipating Amethyst's next move; and he was right. The moment he started to run, so too did Amethyst pursuing him. "AMETHYST STOP!"

"He just wants to kiss you! _Mwa mwa mwa_!" She clacked the skull's teeth together.

"Amethyst!" Steven could feel the familiar, watery sensation around his eyes, "Amethyst, Amethyst, Amethyst!"

"_AMETHYST_!"

It was Pearl's shrill voice that stopped both in their tracks and made them look to the warp pad, where a very annoyed, very impatient Pearl stood watching them. Amethyst slumped and groaned with an equal annoyance.

"Here come's the fun police." Amethyst stored in her gemstone.

Pearl strutted quickly down the steps of the warp pad and picked up speed as she hurried over to Steven and grabbed him by the shoulder to spin him around and search for wounds or damage.

"Steven, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine!" He was used to the fussing, but this time it made him feel frustrated to have the gem spun him around when all he wanted to do was go home and go back to sleep, and in the morning to let all the questions flow from his mind. He pushed away from her. "I'm _fine_, Pearl."

"I heard the warp pad activate and Steven wasn't in bed! What are you doing here?"

"Back off, Pearl!" Amethyst snarled her anger and the heat was quick to take over, "I'm just showing him around!"

"Pearl, Amethyst says this is where gems are made. Is that true?"

Pearl felt cold. Colder than usual, colder than ice. "What else did she tell you...?"

"Um..." The thoughts all seemed to freeze in Steven's mind just as the ice froze inside of Pearl.

"What else?!"

"Don't shout at him!"

Amethyst's heat melted the frost, and almost embraced Steven in a warm hug as she took to protecting him and taking the brunt of Pearl's frost herself. Pearl let go of Steven and made a slow charge toward Amethyst.

"How could you bring him here, Amethyst?! I know you're upset, but that's no excuse to bring him to this..."

"To this _what_?!" Amethyst interrupted.

"To this _place_! To this horrible, _horrible_ place! I didn't think even _you_ could be that reckless!"

"Then I guess you don't know me as well as you thought, P!"

"Please stop fighting!"

Steven's words went unheard.

"And just what does that mean?"

Amethyst shrugged, and her voice turned almost soft. "I dunno..."

Pearl reflected the same calm that overtook Amethyst. She took a deep breath and said, "Just tell me how much you told him."

"What?" Amethyst looked directly at her, "You mean the bad thing?"

"Amethyst..." There was panic in her voice and that fear started to spread to Steven.

"You mean how this place is a bad place?"

"Amethyst!"

"A bad place where bad gems came to grow more bad gems?!"

Steven covered his ears.

"_AMETHYST_!"

"Please stop..." Everything was too loud. His heart beat was too loud, banging against his chest and in his ears growing louder and louder with each pulsating beat. The shouting, the anger, the heat both emotional and physical. The sun warming him while his own emotions seeped his body into coldness.

"Is that what you're talking about?!"

"Amethyst! He isn't ready!"

"But I am!"

"Please _stop_!" Steven held his breath. His breathing was too loud. If only he could stop the screaming and the pounding in his head and the tears that stained his face hot. He needed everything to pause, he needed it to be quiet. He pulled at his hair but it didn't help, he closed his eyes but the blinding light still seeped through. "Please stop..."

"Oh, but don't worry Steven!"

The words were like a knife through his skull, but Amethyst didn't stop.

"We won! Right Pearl?"

"Amethyst, no!"

"We won!"

"Amethyst you're upsetting him!"

"Please stop. I need you to _stop_..."

"And we shut this place down..."

"Please stop..."

"TO SAVE THE PLANET FROM PARASITES LIKE ME!"

"STOP!"

Everything stopped.

Steven opened his eyes and looked around. Everything was still, everything was silent. Everything was was better. He could move, and he did. He looked at Pearl, stuck like a statue reaching into her gem and then to Amethyst, doing the same with her gemstone. His heart beat was still in his ears, stronger than ever, and when he looked down at his normally peachy skin, it was almost... pink.

Then it was over, and everything exploding back into reality.

"That is enough!" Pearl pulled a spear and lunged it. The weapon fell just short of Amethyst and landed at her feet, but it was enough to make the smaller gem back off.

"Pearl!" Steven gasped.

Pearl kneeled beside him. "I'm sorry Steven! I never wanted you to see this horrible place!"

"Then leave..."

Pearl and Steven looked up at Amethyst.

"Pardon?"

"Then LEAVE!" Amethyst was starting to cry, the anger welling up inside her bursting through, "Since it's so horrible here, then just go and leave us abominations alone!" Amethyst pulled out her whip.

Pearl resummoned her weapon, "Amethyst, you don't want to do this."

"Oh but I do! I do! Why do I...?" Amethyst grabbed her face, squinting her eyes against the tears. "UGH!" She flashed her whip, but it missed its target.

Pearl pulled Steven out of the way and shoved him carefully into a nearby hole, "Stay there," And then turned to face Amethyst. "Amethyst, let's just go home."

Amethyst's grip faltered and she started to shake. "I'm sorry..."

Pearl loosened her grip on the spear she held and her shoulders slumped as pity rushed through her. "It's okay..."

"I'm sorry I'm not good enough..." Tears of anger turned to tears of sadness, "I'm sorry that I was made here, and that I was made wrong. I'm sorry I'm not as good as you or Garnet or Spinel. I'm sorry I'll never be as good as Rose..."

"Amethyst..."

Amethyst wiped her tears on her sleeves. "I try! I _really_ try to be like you, and to do the stuff you do, but I can't! You know why? Because I'm_ not good enough_! Cause God forbid I like to eat every once in a while and sleep every once in a while, and I'm sorry that my life doesn't revolve around the outcome of a war I wasn't even a part of! I _can't_ be like you Pearl, because I'm _not_ like you! I'm _broken_! And there's one big difference between us..."

"What would that be?"

"If I had come out right, If I had come out on time, the way I was supposed to, I would have never joined the Crystal Gems. Or the rebellion! I never didn't have a choice, but if I did I would be with the other amethyst's..."

Amethyst looked up at the hundreds of holes above her.

"I would be up _there_!"

She pointed to the sky.

"And maybe I would be happy... and I wouldn't feel so broken..."

"Amethyst, we can talk about this back home..."

"This is my home. Don't you remember?"

"It was, but it isn't any more. Your home is the temple, and I don't want to fight you."

Amethyst growled and bared pointed teeth, blinking the tears away (though they were quickly replaced by new ones) and looked up at Pearl.

"Good! I wouldn't want to fight me neither!" She cracked her whip in a terrifying display.

"Amethyst, think about what you're doing..."

"Naw, that's more of a _you_ thing, P. And I'm _not_ you!"

Amethyst jumped, but before she could fall, her hair tucked around her like a full body shield and she shot off after Pearl. Pearl was barely able to leap out of the way as Amethyst rushed past, not slowing in the slightest and climbing straight up the wall, circling back around and diving downward to reset her charge. Pearl was ready with her spear, but Amethyst was ready too, and instead of attacking outright, she bounced. Almost like a ball, soaring and spinning in the air until her hair unraveled and she struck out with her whip. Pearl stepped on it, pulled Amethyst down hard, and cut the whip in two.

"Guys, stop!"

Amethyst groaned. She pushed her body up from where she stood, looking at her broken whip in despair, then at Steven running to her. To help her, to comfort her. She felt so angry, so _scared_!

"_Stay out of this_!" Amethyst folded her whip and shot it out at Steven like a bullet.

Steven tried to stop, but the whip struck him hard in the chest. Enough to send him flying back, and enough for him to crack his head against the stone wall. All Steven knew for a moment was ringing and pain. Every time he breathed and every time he moved. And then the sounds around all snapped back to reality, and the pain was gone and he could sit up.

Amethyst was striking out at Pearl again and again. Each time Pearl would dodge, almost dancing. Elegantly, twirling and spinning and flipping with her eyes closed even as Amethyst's aggression grew more and more pronounced. Pearl landed on one foot, twirled around, and kicked Amethyst's chest, sending her tumbling through the air and landing on all fours like some kind of savage beast. Her hair folded down along her back, nails digging into the earth; no, not nails. Claws.

"Stop this Amethyst!" Pearl said, holding her spear out in front of her, "You _can't_ win."

Steven had to help, he had to get up. But just the thought of moving seemed to make his chest hurt and his head throb. He tried to call out, but all that came was a weak cry.

"Pearl... don't..."

"I don't care!" Amethyst produced two identical whips, shooting them out and wrapping them around Pearl's spear. Pearl tried to pull it free. "I won't sit here and let you remind me of everything I hate about myself!"

Amethyst raised her weapons and brought them down hard, sending a shockwave through the length of them that ended in Pearl getting tossed into the air. Her body slammed into one of the machines in the wall, and then fell and landed hard. Unlike Amethyst, she didn't immediately get back up.

"I didn't ask for it to be this way!" Amethyst started to approach Pearl, "I never asked to be _made_!"

There was a groan. A loud, metallic groan that made Steven look up to see the strange device , dented from where Pearl had collided with it. The metal arms keeping it in place were slowly creeping out of their holding. Slowly, but it was still happening fast.

"Guys, the thing!"

Amethyst and Pearl looked to Steven, and then up as they shared the horror he felt.

Steven didn't care about any pain, or any potential pain. They could run, but it was faster than Pearl, and definitely faster than Steven. He had to get there first, and he forced himself to his feet. There was no pain, or maybe there was; it didn't matter either way with the determination running through him. He could hear the groaning getting worse, the cracking and release of the machine above him, but he didn't stop to think of it. Pearl was still on the ground, trying to find her own will to stand when Steven threw himself on top of her, Amethyst beside them, and started to surround them in pink.

"Amethyst!" He reached out for the purple gem as the bubble started to form.

Amethyst shook her head, and even as Steven reached out for her, she ran.

"AMETHYST!"

Steven couldn't move. All he could do was cling to Pearl, cover her body with his and his bubble as best he could as the stones and metal came raining down on them.


	33. Secrets

The dust settled. A wall of rubble surrounded them, and the only light either could see was coming from the the smallest sliver of sunlight seeping through the cracks. Steven hugged Pearl, her cold form the best thing in the world in that moment. As Pearl stood, she didn't loosen her grip in the slightest. On the contrary, she lifted Steven with her and cradled him like he was a baby again.

"Steven." Her voice was as gentle and soothing as Garnet's, "I need you to put down the bubble."

"But... but the things."

"Don't worry about the rubble Steven, I can handle it."

"But Pearl, I... I did something." He remembered the pink, and how time stood still.

"Nonsense, Steven, this was all my fault! You played no part in this!"

"No, I..."

"Shh, Steven, now is not the time to blame yourself. I didn't... I didn't know she was still so upset about this. Just lower the bubble and we can go get Garnet."

"We have to get Amethyst!"

"No, no, no." She hushed Steven again and ran her fingers through his hair, "Amethyst is gone, you saw her run. Not even Garnet could keep up with her. But she will know where she went, and I need to get you safe."

"I don't need to safe! I need Amethyst!"

"We'll get her back. This isn't the first time she's run off. Lower the bubble, Steven."

Steven closed his eyes and braced himself against Pearl as he obeyed. He felt Pearl jump, and the movement of her arm as she struck out, presumably with her spear. There was a series of crashes, like rocks shattering, but Pearl was there so he felt no pain. A small shower of dust rained down on him, but that was all the discomfort he felt before Pearl was dusting him off and saying,

"It's alright Steven. You can open your eyes now."

Steven blinked the dust from his eyes and looked at what remained.

"Do you want to walk?"

Steven whined and clung tighter to Pearl as she tried to put him down.

"Okay, okay. I'll carry you."

Her gentle hand rubbed Steven's back as he closed his eyes again. She carried him over the rubble and to the warp pad, holding him through the chill of the stream and cradling him all the way to the house.

"STEVEN!"

Steven recognized the sing-song voice, but still flinched as he was suddenly pulled away from the safety of Pearl and into the shelter of another. Gloved hands, the scent of flowers, and arms that felt of rubber.

"Spinel!" He hugged her arm and nuzzled against it. His mind processed Garnet standing silently a few away.

Spinel nuzzled him, peppering his face with gentle kisses before looking around and saying, "Wait. Where's Amethyst?"

Steven looked helplessly to Pearl to explain; Spinel and Garnet followed his example. Pearl took her time answering, the quiet seeming to stretch on far too long as static rang in the air.

"Garnet, we need to talk."

"Pearl!" Spinel demanded, "Where _is_ she?!"

"I need to talk to Garnet."

Spinel growled, dropping Steven to the ground as her face heated to a bright red and her eyes to flames, smoke blowing from her ears with the sound of a train's whistle. "What did you do?!" She held her hands in fists and jumped up, seeming to float for the deration of her shout before drifting back down.

"Spinel."

"Huh?" The color drained away, and Spinel was back to her normal pink self.

"Spinel." Garnet repeated calmly, "Stay here with Steven."

Spinel's gasp was loud, but Garnet didn't seem to hear it as she marched off into the privacy of the temple with Pearl at her side. Spinel's face squinted up and turned red again as she grinded her teeth together. Her arm spiraled until it resembled an attack-ready spring, and her fist swelled to twice the size.

"Ooo! When I get my hands on her!"

The springed arm released with the same, reverberating sound Steven expected as her arm unraveled, Punched the temple door, and then bounced back to her. She shrank her proportions back to normal.

"Spinny! Please calm down." Steven pleaded.

"Stevie!" Spinel turned quickly to look at him, kneeling to him so they could look eye-to-eye. "Tell your _best friend_ Spinel everything!"

Steven summed up everything as fast as he could; Amethyst waking him up in the middle of the night and how the emotions surrounding her didn't feel right. How she practically dragged him out of bed, and everything that occured in the kindergarten. Pearl appearing, and the fight that transpired. How Amethyst ran.

"But there was something else..." Steven couldn't bring himself to look at Spinel, so his hands did just fine in that moment, "I don't know it was, but Pearl wouldn't listen when I tried to ask her."

Spinel hummed far too loud, then seized both of her ears and pulled them hard. At once, they grew and grew until they were nearly as big as she was. She put her hands behind them to push them forward. "I'm _all_ ears."

"Everything was just loud, and I just wanted it all to stop, and it did! It was like everything slowed down, and I turned pink. But then it was over and everything was back to normal. It was only for a few seconds, but it was scary..."

Spinel shrank her ears back to normal and started to laugh. Steven could feel himself fall apart, everything in the room suddenly cold. He felt like metling into the floor to get away from the laughter. It was the truth! It was...

"Steven!" Spinel wiped an exaggerated tear from her eye and spoke through her incessent giggles, "You're a _quartz_!"

Steven blinked. "I... know?"

"Oh, um." Spinel cleared her throat and then tucked her arms behind her back, dragging her boots against the floor in an almost playful manner as she swayed back and forth with the movement. "You know that thing that Amethyst does? The spin dash?"

Steven nodded.

"That's what you were doing! Or at least what your body was trying to do."

"Wait." The thought clicked into Steven's head so fast he barely had time to think of it before it fell out, "I can do that?!"

"Sure you can!" Spinel reassured with a wave of her hand.

"Did you ever see my mom do it?"

"Well, no, now that I'm thinkin'. But she's a quartz! She has the power, and so. Do. You!" She tapped Steven's nose with a squeak.

"You mean... I can run like Amethyst!"

"Well not right now! You gotta work up to it, silly! Start off slow and-"

"Spinel."

Spinel flinched, and then scowled at Garnet's sudden interuption. It didn't take much for her to turn the scowl into a smirk and turn around to face the leader, batting long eyelashes and holding her joined hands to her chest.

"Yes dear?"

Garnet was unimpressed. "Watch Steven."

Pearl was practically clinging to Garnet's arm, not speaking. Not even looking at Spinel; in fact, it was clear that she was avoiding it.

"I got my eye on him!" Spinel winked, "_Both_ eyes!"

Spinel's eyes stretched from their sockets, like tubes of white and pink that slivered through the air until they were rubbing all over Steven.

Steven screamed. "Ah! Eww! _Eww_! It's slimy!"

"Spinel."

Spinel pulled her eyes back, and Steven could finally breath again. She put her hand on her hip. "Where ya goin' anyway?"

"We're going to find Amethyst!" Pearl boasted, a smile bordering on smug imprinted on her face.

"There's any number of places she could be hiding." Garnet said, "We must check them all."

"Righty-o!" Spinel rattled her eyes, "Like _where_, exactly?"

"You're not coming."

"Well _sure_!" Spinel's eyes rolled in a comically large arch, "But I need to know where to search for you if you go missing!"

"We won't."

"Oh _golly_, I hope not!" Spinel battled her eyes and pursed her lips, "That would be just awful."

"And you will not follow us." Garnet immediately followed up with, "I mean it, Spinel. Don't follow us."

"I won't!" Spinel folded her arms behind her back and Steven could clearly see her fingers crossed.

"Uncross those fingers."

Spinel obeyed.

"Steven, behave yourelf." Garnet left Spinel in favor of gently pinching Steven's cheeks, "It's early. Try to get some more sleep."

"I don't think I can..." Steven admitted.

"I know." Garnet ruffled Steven's hair hard enough to force his head down with the gentle affection, "At least try."

"Okay Garnet."

Garnet gave a patient smile as she and Pearl departed for the warp pad. They dissapeared. The moment the light faded, Spinel gave a wail and fell apart. Every part of her streched thin and fell loose into a pile of limbs and misery.

Steven pet her head. "It's gonna be okay Spinel..."

"I know it will!" There was a sudden determination in her voice, and her body popped back together all at once, "Cause we're gonna go find 'er!"

"But... Garnet said not to go looking."

"No, Garnet said not to _follow_ her. We won't be _following_, we'll be looking on our own! No followin' necessary! That, my dear Steven, is what we call a loophole!"

"Are there a lot of loop holes?"

"Steven, everything has a little loop-de-loop if you look hard enough!" To prove her point, she twisted her neck into two loops. "Even me!"

Steven laughed. He tried to bend his arm in a way to repeat the motion but, after struggling, was only barely able to complete a single, malformed look.

"That's the spirit!"

Spinel grabbed Steven's head in an outragously large head.

"Now let's get rollin! _Yahooo_!"

Spinel jumped up with a springing sound and shot off out the door, her legs spinning like tires as they passed down the stairs and across the beach where the barest hints of sunshine grew over the water. Spinel put Steven on her back and wrapped her arms around him like a seat belt.

"Hang in there, _Sunshine_!"

Steven didn't need to be told. He ducked his head behind her and squinted against the growing wind.

"Where are we going?"

"Wherever these good ol' legs decide to take me!"

It seemed they decided to take her to the car wash.

"Okay, Stevie. This rodeo ends here." She dropped him from her back and raised a fist to Greg's van. "Oh _Greg_!" She knocked three times.

There was chaos inside the van for the moments that followed before a very startled and dishelved looking Greg opened the door and practically fell out. "Woah, woah, woah! Where's the danger?"

"No danger! We have a warrent to search your premisis!"

"Wa- a _what_?"

Spinel pushed Greg aside and hoped into the van, scanning left and right and up and all around. "Hmm! Nothing purple in sight!"

"Mind explaining what's going on?" Greg asked, rubbing the back of his hair and looking between both of the searchers.

"We're looking for Amethyst! She ran away!"

"Again? Did you check at Vidalia's?"

"No?" Steven didn't know why he was asking, "Why?"

"Doesn't matter, sweetcake!" Spinel picked up Steven and put him once again on her back, "We's got an onion mom to talk to!"

* * *

Vidalia opened the door at the first knock and shoved a double-barrel through the doorway. "You have about five seconds to get off my property before I..." Her eyes drifted down to Steven, "Oh. Hi Steven."

She lowered the gun.

"Hi Vidalia! Why are you pointing a gun at us?"

"Thought ya'll was the police." Vidalia wheezed out a weak laugh, "Why are ya doin here so early?"

"I think the real question is 'why are you awake so early' miss trigger happy chappy?""

"Ya'll are up too, ain'tcha?" Vidalia pointed, "Kid's sick; been watchin' him all night."

"Oh no! Which one?"

"Onion? Poor kid started throwing up and everything."

"I hope he's okay!"

Steven was able to slide past Vidalia without her even attempting to stop him, but when Spinel tried to follow, she blocked the entrance.

"Mind telling me what ya'll are here for?"

"We're looking for Amethyst." Spinel shot back, "So 'scuse me!"

She flattened herself and slid past Vidalia before returning the mass of her body to follow Steven over to the couch where Onion, true to Vidalia's word, laid wrapped up in blankets and doused in sweat.

"Maybe you should take off the blanket?" Spinel put a hand to Onion's forehead. "Poor fella's burning up."

"He eh. Kept putting it back on." Vidalia explained quickly, "But Amethyst isn't here so ya'll can head on home!"

"I think we'll take a look around" Spinel said. "Ya know. If you don't mind."

Before Vidalia could open her mouth to decline, Steven quickly added to Spinel's request.

"Please. We'll be fast. I really want to find her..."

Vidalia looked down at Steven. She sighed, and her expression became gentle. "I can't say no to that face..."

"Thank you Miss Vidalia!"

"No problem, kid. Just make it quick."

"I'll check upstairs, you check down!" Spinel quickly followed her own order and flipped up the stairs. Steven turned back to Vidalia.

"Miss Vidalia, can I get a drink?"

"Sure thing, kiddo. Want a soda or a juice?"

"Soda please!"

"You got it!"

The moment Vidalia dissapeared out of view, Onion sat up like dracula out of his coffin. Steven almost screamed, but then Onion held a finger to his lips.

"Onion? I thought you were sleeping?"

Onion shook his head.

"Are you... feeling better?"

Onion didn't react. He shoved the blanket off of his tiny body and slid off the couch, grabbing Steven by the hand.

"Onion what- _woah_!" Onion was pulling him down the halls and up the stairs with a silent rage boiling inside him, "You're stronger than you look- ow! _Onion_!"

Past Sourcream's room, and past Vidalia's. To Onion's room, the door wide open and Spinel inside looking closely at Onion's terrarium.

"Steven?" She rubbed her head, "I thought I was lookin' upstairs. Is it opposite day?"

Onion finally let go of Steven, running straight for his bed and starting to bounce on it.

"What's he doing?"

"No clue."

Once he got enough height, Onion pulled on the top of his poster and ripped it off the wall to show off the secret door to his office. He let the poster fall, stopped bouncing, and motioned to the passage.

"That's disturbing." Spinel commented.

"No, it's just his office. He has toys in there."

"Hmm..." Spinel crawled onto the bed beside Onion and looked at his closely. "Maybe he has an _Amy_ in there, too..."

Onion turned away from her, pulled the door open, and dissapeared into the tunnel.

"Steven!"

Steven turned at Vidalia's call.

"Where'd you go?"

Spinel snatched Steven and covered his mouth, shoving him through the tunnel, "In ya get!"

Onion was waiting at the other end to help Steven down.

"UGH!"

Steven could recognize that groan anyway.

"Come on dude! I thought we were friends!"

Onion stuck his tongue out at her.

"_AMETHYST_!"

Amethyst was laying on Onion's bean bag chair, covered in a heavy blanket and holding a bag of half-eaten cheetos in her hands. The orange proof of her binge eating was written all over her face, but Steven didn't care.

"Sup dude." Amethyst held out the bag. "Want a cheeto?"

"Are you okay?" Steven tried to steal a glance at Amethyst's gemstone, "I tried to bubble you too, but-"

"Chillax, man. I'm fine."

"_AMY_!"

In a flash of pink, both quartz were knocked into each other as rubber arms grabbed around their similar frames and pulled them both tight.

"Hello to you too, Spinel."

Spinel made a sound not unlike a boiling tea kettle. Then it turned practically into a growl as she started to hit Amethyst on the head, each strike ending with a squeak that only made Amethyst laugh during her vain attempts to cover her head.

"Hey, hey! Haha! I'm sorry!"

"Never run off like that again! Never, ever, _ever_! I thought you was never coming back."

Spinel's assult stopped, and her arms fell still like limp noodles.

"Hey, hey. Hey..." Amethyst gently touched Spinel's cheek, and the tear-soaked gem closed her eyes to lean into the touch, "Don't be such a crybaby. You know I always come back."

Spinel gave a whimpering squeak and gave Amethyst another hug, which Amethyst returned with the least amount of effort she could muster.

"_Yay_!" Steven wiggled in between the two to be included in their hugging session. "We're all friends again!"

"We never stopped." Amethyst said.

"But- but you were crying, and you ran away! I thought..."

"Dude. I'm fine. Look me in the eyes and honestly tell me I ain't." Amethyst opened her eyes wide as proof.

"Then... why did you run?"

"Cause Pearl was getting on my nerves! Always yelling and shouting and... making me hate myself..."

Spinel pulled away from the hug, but Amethyst grabbed her hand. A momentary panic flashed in her navy eyes and all around her. Spinel slowly and wordlessly let the other gem guide her hand onto her shoulder and hold it there.

"Amethyst..." Steven regretted his words the moment they started to pour out, but he couldn't stop, "Can I ask you something?"

Amethyst scoffed. "Ask away, little man."

"What did you mean bad gems?"

The happiness in the room shattered like glass. Amethyst looked away, her eyes dark and clouded while Spinel simply looked sad. Sad and upset and pitiful, though her eyes never left Steven as she kneeled down beside him.

"Steven not all gems are good..."

"You mean like Lapis?"

"No... worse. Gems that came to hurt the earth until your mother stopped them... but they still hurt a few places..."

"Like the kindergarten?"

Spinel closed her eyes and nodded. "Like the kindergarten."

"Was..." Steven didn't want to say it, so when it came out, it was quiet, "Was there a war...?"

"Huh?"

"Amethyst mentioned a war... and a _rebellion_...?"

"Oh..." Spinel clicked her tongue, "You see..."

"There _was_ a war!" Amethyst interrupted suddenly, "A horrible, _horrible_ war I was meant to be a part of!"

"But you weren't!" Spinel objected to Amethyst's harsh tone, "Not even _I_ was!"

"Aw _shit_." That voice belonged to Vidalia as she struggled to fit through the tunnel "They found ya. Sorry Ams."

Amethyst raised a hand. "No sweat it. This one's extremely nosy." She pointed to Spinel.

"Can..." Steven wrung his hands together, "Can we go home now?"

* * *

Home was nice. Home was quiet. Home had food and peace and warmth and family. It had fun memories and sandwiches and soda and board games. Steven and the two guardians still with him took part of many of those pleasures as they waited for the other two to return. When they did, the confusion etched on Pearl's face, followed by immediately wrath and annoyance made Steven laugh. Garnet held out her arm to keep Pearl in place.

"It's nice to see you, Amethyst."

"_Finally_!" Amethyst threw the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, "Took you _forever_!"

"Your day went well I suspect." Garnet said calmly.

"Mmhmm!" Spinel nodded, "How was your fruitless effort."

"It was alright. She was at Vidalia's."

"Sure was!"

"I see that now. A very unlikely future; those are my favorite."

"Okay, okay!" Amethyst stood up quickly, holding her arms out and hanging her head in defeat, "Before ya'll put the beat down on me, I have something else to add to how horrible I am. I'd rather take the beating all at once and get it over with!" Amethyst looked at Steven.

Steven felt suddenly cold. "Amethyst, are you sure?"

"What's she talking about?"

"What did you rope Steven into this time?!"

"Amethyst. Explain."

Amethyst explained. She explained everything. Denying both Pearl and Garnet's order, hiding the pillow into her room until she had seen Steven free Lapis. Until she freed Desert. As the story went on, Amethyst became more passionate in her speaking of the treasure she had hidden. Pearl grew more and more furious with each passing word, almost interrupting a thousand times and being silenced by Garnet each attempt. Spinel started off confused, then confusion gave way to disbelief, and disbelief to fear. Garnet's expression didn't falter, but Steven could feel the energy around her wave with all sorts of emotions he couldn't begin to untangle. When Amethyst was finally done with her long, frenzied recount, Garnet wasted no time in voicing herself.

"Go get her."

"You're not mad?" Amethyst asked hopefully.

"Get her and bring her to me."

Amethyst slunk away to obey her lead.

"No one say anything until I say so." Garnet directed at Pearl and Spinel.

"But she-"

"No."

"She l-"

"No."

"We _can't_ just-"

"_Quiet_."

Pearl pouted. "Yes Garnet."

Spinel zipped her lips shut.

"Steven, I am not mad at you." Garnet reassured to the small boy.

"Are you mad at Amethyst?"

"I'm curious." Garnet said simply, "Curious about her _friend_."

When the door opened, everyone waited in a tense silence as Amethyst backed out, guiding the taller and much more hesitant Desert.

"It's alright, Sandy. Come on..."

"It's _awe wright_..." Desert repeated in her heavy accent.

"Come on..." Amethyst was finally able to coax the Desert Glass out into the open. "Everyone, meet Desert. Desert, meet everyone."

Desert whined loudly and ducked behind Amethyst, clinging around her middle and burying her face out of sight.

"Hello Desert Glass."

Steven was shocked by the gently, soothing tone of Garnet's voice as the glided over to the couple and kneeled down her height matched with Desert.

"I am Garnet." She held out both of her palms, "I won't hurt you..."

Fearful, red eyes peeked out from behind her shelter.

"Amethyst told me a lot about you."

Desert didn't respond.

"I mean you no harm." Garnet stood back up, "You are welcome to stay with us."

"What- _Garnet_!"

"_Pearl_. Shh."

Pearl slapped both hands over her mouth to silence herself.

"We could always use a new member..."


	34. Slice of Life

_**This chapter is more filler than anything; I needed a chapter to separate plots in multiple occasions, so I came up with the idea of little slices of life chapters whenever I need them, featuring two characters each chapter. This chapter is Lars and Sadie. Hope you enjoy! **_

"_SADIE_! It's time to wake up!"

Those were the words Sadie woke up to every morning, rain or shine, work day or off day (not that she got many of those). Almost a complete hour before she had her own alarm set to wake her, Sadie's mother called out those words, for even though it wasn't time for Sadie to get up, it was time for her mother to. Sadie did as she always did, trying to ignore her mother's far-too-cheerful calls as the warmth of the covers engulfed her once more in the dark realm of sleep.

"_Sadie_!"

She groaned and pulled the blanket tighter on herself. The blinding brightness of the light flicked on, and her mother practically ripped the blanket off of her body to let the cold air shock her awake.

"It's time to get up Sadie!"

"Ugh! _Mom_!" Sadie tried to snatch the blanket back, "I told you I don't have to be up for another hour!"

"And yet you always get up around this time!"

"Yes, but I don't need to."

"Of course you do sweetie! I've seen how long your showers are!"

Barbra's pat on Sadie's back was almost enough to toss her forward.

"I only take such longer showers because I have nothing better to do! I don't need two hours to get ready!"

"Well maybe you could take those two hours to put on some makeup, huh? Maybe some nice foundation..."

"Mom."

"A little blush never hurt anyone!"

"Mom!"

"Some lipstick, maybe some maskera! We have the same complextion so you can borrow some of mine!"

"MOM!"

"Oh, yes sweetie?"

"That's really nice of you to offer, but I don't wear makeup."

"Oh, but you'd look so cute though!"

"I don't have anyone to look cute for, mom."

"Well, what about youself?"

"Mom..."

"At least let me style your hair!" Barbra was already playing with her daughter's hair before she got an answer, running her fingers through it and feeling its softness, "You never let me do that anymore! I remember when you were little I'd always have your hair up in little buns and braids!"

Sadie laughed. "Yeah, I remember. I also remember I _hated_ it! You always pulled it too tight!"

"Well I had to make it tight enough to stay in place!"

"I'm ninty percent sure that was the cause of my migranes."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" Barbra swatted Sadie on the head, "You'd look pretty with your hair up!"

"_Mom_!" Sadie shoved her off, "Don't _you_ have to get to work?"

"Right! Right! Uh!" She kissed her daughter on the head, "Have a good day sweetie!"

"Bye mom!"

Barbra was barely at the first step before she stopped. "Don't forget to call if you need anything!"

"I know mom!"

A few more steps up. "I make some breakfast for you! It's wrapped up on the counter!"

"Thanks mom!"

"Love you sweetie!"

"Love you too."

"See you tonight!"

"Okay!"

"Have a good day!"

"I will!"

"I'm bringing home taco's for dinner!"

"Sounds good!"

"Love you!"

"Love you too!"

"Love you more!"

"Love you most!"

"Bye Sadie!"

"_Mom_!"

"Right, right, right! Going!"

She finally closed the door, and Sadie was able to collapse onto her bed. She tried to embrace sleep again for nearly ten minutes before accepting that the blissful realm had escaped her grasp and she was stuck in the waking realm. She got up, got ready, and ate the breakfast her mother had laid out for her. It was. as usual, far more than she could eat and over half of it still remained when she put it in the fridge for later.

The walk across the boardwalk was just as lively as ever. The other restaurants were getting ready for their days; Fryman heating up his first vats of grease in preparation for the inevitable arrival of Steven, while his sons raced around with camera's chasing some nonexistent alien race. The Pizza twins working hard on preparing tables and getting their shop in order, and down by the Funland was opening everything. She waved to the gems on the beach as they practiced doing whatever it is they did; she didn't get paid enough to care, and as long as they kept their business confined to the beach she wasn't worried.

She barely paid attention to her auto-piloted body as it unlocked the back door of the bakery and got to work cleaning, taking out the garbarge Lars was supposed to the day before, and putting fresh donuts on display while the older ones went on discount. Then, as usual, she waited. Not many people wanted donuts so early in the morning, so for the first few hours, she was alone. She filled the silent void with her phone, scrolling through the same things, post after post, as the hours flew by. Almost two hours in, the doors opened and gave her the first hope of human contact, only for it to be completely shattered.

"Hey Lars." She stuffed her phone in her purse and leaned into her hand. "You're late."

Lars didn't respond.

"Gee, rough day?" Sadie prompted.

"You wouldn't _believe_ the morning I've had..."

"Oh yeah? Try me."

* * *

Lars woke up feeling just as tired as when he'd gone to sleep. Same old room, same old blankets, same old headache already starting its inevitable increase into agony. He didn't want to get up, didn't want to move. He just wanted to be sucked back into the welcomed release that sleep offered from everything. Absent of mind, absent of thought. Just actions with no true consequence, doing what he wanted, being who he wanted. He closed his eyes to beg it to come back and it did, but only in short intervals before he was jerked away and those same ill feelings flushed back with a vendetta.

The minutes passed. Staring at the ceiling, thinking of nothing. Just laying there until his mind started to writhe in the boredom. He forced his body to work, and to throw the covers off his body was enough to exhaust him. He sat there even longer, just staring down at his body, trying to regain the energy lost as he focused on every protruding rib and every inch of olive skin clinging tight to his thin body. He stood slowly, taking the time to sift through every potential outfit, knowing he would wear none of them and, once there were no more options left, slipping on his work uniform and his familiar gages. The trip downstairs was as exhausting as ever, but at least the house was empty. He made himself a quick bowl of cereal and sat down to eat.

"_Laramie_! There you are!"

Lars dropped his spoon. "Mom. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Well, I wasn't feeling well so I took off this morning. Thought you and I could have a little mother-son bonding time!"

"I have to work today." Lars suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. He got up from the table.

"Oh...? I... figured since you didn't get up this morning that it was like, a donut holiday or something..."

"Nope. Alarm didn't go off." The lie slipped off his tongue like butter, "Gotta get to work."

"Oh well... have a good day at work, Laramie..."

"_LARS_!"

That was all he said before he stormed out the door and into the town filled with life. The little terror Onion running rampant while his brother did little to stop him. Mayor dummy driving his van down the boardwalk with a loop of 'Vote for Mayor Dewey' repeating through the megaphone. Jenny and Kiki in the back of their shop, no doubt debating whether or not the former had to work that day. Looking to the beach, he saw Steven and the other freaks playing in the sand, making it dance in spiraling shapes. None of it mattered. All of it was average and boring, just like the town itself.

"Lars Baringa!"

Lars nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice just feet behind him. There was a camera shoved in his face, held by the younger Fryman sibling while the older sibling stood to the side with a microphone, while his girlfriend Sabina hung on his arm; just another one of the freaks.

"_Ronaldo_! Don't do that!" Lars grabbed his head as the loud Fryman's voice seemed to boom twice as loud in his head.

"Lars Baringa," It was Sabina to speak this time, "Exactly how close are you to Steven Universe?"

Ronaldo held the microphone out to Lars.

"Not at all, he's just some annoying kid who refuses to leave me alone!"

"And what do you know of his rock powers?"

"Rock powers? Uh. He can, I dunno, summon a bubble I guess."

"And you have seen this bubble?" Ronaldo asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go now." Lars turned to try and quickly escape.

"Wait!" Ronaldo ran out in front of him and blocked his path. "If I wanted to see this 'bubble' in action where would you, someone who witnessed said bubble, suggest I go?"

"To _Hell_. Goodbye Ronaldo!"

That time, he was able to escape to the Big Doughnut.

"Hey Lars." Sadie stuffed her phone in her purse and leaned into her hand. "You're late."

Lars didn't respond. He took his place beside Sadie.

"Gee, rough day?" Sadie prompted.

"You wouldn't believe the morning I've had..."

"Oh yeah? Try me."

Lars explained as quickly as he could, only for Sadie to laugh. The reaction almost made Lars genuinely hurt.

"You're telling me the only thing you had to deal with was two seconds of mom and five of Ronaldo? At least you didn't have to get up an hour early or have to say 'i love you' twenty times in the first hour."

"I honestly think I would die." Lars gave a weak chuckle, "No doubt, _instant_ death."

Sadie snickered along. Half way into the hour of solitude that followed, the two snuck away into the back room together. Sadie always brought tapes to watch on the old TV (which had belonged to her before she'd gotten an upgrade) and, whenever there wasn't a customer, they would spent the day watching whatever Sadie had brought. It wasn't like they could get fired- they were the only people in town dumb enough to work there!- and everyone still got their donuts, so there were no complaints. If there ever were, and both of them got fired, Beach City would be without their most accessable form of sweets. No one wanted that.

Sadie was sat against the wall on a pile of boxes while Lars rested his head against her legs. When she started to play with his hair, he didn't shout or fuss. Not when it was just them. Not when no one could see them, and no one would know just how much he was melting into the soft touch and warm affection. Not when Sadie never told and wouldn't tell.

The bell jingled, foretelling a customer that, seconds later, made a second announcement to his prescence.

"Lars! Sadie! I want doughnuts!"

Lars groaned.

"Come on Lars." Sadie said in a sweet voice, giving a final twirl of Lars' curls before pausing the movie. "it's just Steven."

She stood up, and Lars did too.

It wasn't just Steven; there were three others with him, two of which Lars recognized. The tall, pink one and the short purple one (Lars couldn't mother to remember their names) and a green and red one he didn't recognize.

"Hi Steven." Sadie said pleasently, "Hi Spinel, hi Amethyst! Whose your friend?"

The red-hooded lady ducked behind Amethyst with a whimper, scarlet eyes wide with apprehention. Lars started to look her up and down, his eyes settling on the gemstone embeded in her stomach. Great, he thought, another freak to mess up his day.

"This is Desert Glass!" Steven introduced, propping his head on the counter, "She's been living in Amethyst's room since Christmas."

"Oh that's nice." Was all Sadie said, "It's nice to meet you, Desert Glass, I'm Sadie."

The gem stared at Sadie's hand and tilted her head before quickly whispering something to Amethyst.

"Oh!" Spinel laughed, "Like this!"

She stuck out her tongue and took Sadie's hand, shaking it violently enough to make the older teen lift off the ground as her body struggled to follow the motions.

"I'm _Spinel_! Nice to _meet_ you!"

When she let go of Sadie, the blonde dropped like a rock and landed like one, too. Spinel stepped aside with a bow, motioning to the counter with her hands.

"Now _you_!"

The desert glass only approached, and Lars backed up at the same pace. Sadie, however, stood her ground and held out her hand for the (hopefully) gentler Desert. Desert meekly took Sadie's hand and gave it a mild shake.

"I'm _Spinel_. Nice to _meet_ you." She mimicked, her voice heavy and laden with mispronunciations.

"No, no!" Spinel corrected, quickly running up to join her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You say _your_ name!"

"Oh!" Desert Glass pulled her hand back, and then reached forward once more to try again. "I am _your _name, nice to meet you!"

"Yup." Spinel's eyelids drooped. "Set myself up for dat one didn't I? Introduce yourself as Desert Glass, Dezzy!"

"Right. Right." She attemtped again for the third time. "I am _Desert Glass_. Nice to _meet_ you."

"It's eh. Nice to meet you too!" Sadie responded.

Desert glass beamed her pride and turned running to Amethyst, grabbing the purple gems hands. "I did it!"

"Good job, Treasure." Amethyst approved. The green gem cirlced back to stand behind her.

"So, I'm guessing you want donuts?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah!" Steven cheered, "We're celebrating Desert! Our usuals, please! And uh... Desert, what do you want?"

Looking up at the wide selection of options, Desert looked hopefully lost.

"Just point to which one you want." Amethyst encouraged.

Steven and Spinel followed up with praises of their own.

"Come on!" Spinel gave a far-too-realisitc whistle, "You can do it!"

"They all taste good so there's no losing!" Steven offered.

Sadie was already packing away the other three donuts, waiting patiently and smiling as the new gem struggled with her decisions. Lars just wanted her to hurry up already.

"Erm... that one...?" She pointed to a blue doughnut adorned with pink sprinkles.

"Right away miss." Sadie packed up the last doughnut and then handed the bag over to Steven. "There you are!"

"Thanks!" Steven pulled away from the counter as Spinel stepped up to pay, running around the length of it and crossing over to the other side. He practically crawled over Lars to get to Sadie and pull her into a tight hug. "_Huggies_!"

"Aw, Steven." Sadie returned the hug without a fuss for as long as Steven kept it going. "Enjoy your doughnuts!"

"We will!"

Lars growled his dissaproval as Steven crawled back over him, "Bye Lars!" and quickly ran out the door with his gems in tow.

"Ugh! What is _wrong_ with that kid?! He snarled.

"It's Steven." Sadie said sweetly, "what else did you expect?"

**_I have been having some technically difficulties with accessing my current account. I have an alternate account made called Remmus the Wolf, and in the event of me no longer having access to this account, I will be continuing to upload on that one._**

**_Oh another note, I will be taking a short two-week hiatus to catch up on some private work, as well as catch up on my plans for this story and others. I will still frequently check for any messages or questions you may have concerning the story. Thank you all very much! Lots of love, and I hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy._**


	35. Warp Tour

"Can I look now?" Steven was growing impatient, his heart racing with the expectation of secrets and surprises.

"Almost!" Connie's voice spoke like honey, "Keep your eyes closed."

"I am!"

The waves crashed, and the birds called. Connie's bag rustled as she fiddled with whatever it was she had to show Steven.

"How about now?" Steven asked.

"Okay... _now_!"

Steven opened his eyes. "IT'S... a _book_?" His excitement faded.

"Not just _a_ book." Connie corrected, and motioned to the line of similarly-designed chapter books, "It's a whole _series_! It's about this girl names Lisa, and she's a witch! I mean, she doesn't know she's a witch at first. And she had a familiar, which is sorta like this spirit companion that everyone in the world has. Hers is a talking falcon named Archimicarus! Anyway, she goes on a quest to find her father after he's kidnapped by a _mysterious_, one-eyed man!"

Steven could listen to that voice all day. "Woah! Mystery!"

"Here! Let me get you started!" Connie picked up one of the books and sat down in the sand. "Ahem. Chapter one: _The Morning Thief_. Lisa awoke with a start, the echo of her dreams still dancing in her mind. The low echo of thunder murmured through the quiet house..."

There was low rumble, like the thunder in Connie's book jumped to reality in the cloudless sky.

"Woah." Steven searched for any hint of gray among the blue, "Good book."

"Yeah..." Connie's sugary voice was tainted with apprehention, "The house was deathly still. The only sound Lisa could hear was her own heartbeat _pounding_ in her ears. The hair on her neck tingled when suddenly..."

There was a crash. A loud, watery crash like a whale breaching the surface and slamming back down into the waves. Then came a rush of movement, a shadow distorted by the ocean water as it crawled swiftly toward the shore, and then breached the air. Perfectly spherical and green, rolling onto the sand like a bowling ball across a lane before, out from four hatches on its bottom, came cylindar-like legs. The hatches closed. With a hum, the legs were locked into place and the marble bot stood.

There was a pop in Steven's gem, the bubble summoned from it surrounding he and Connie as the marble bot opened up yet another panel to reveal a screen, a scanner searching the area in a neon-green display.

Amethyst was the first one out of the house.

"What was that?!"

"It's one of Peridot's droid thingies!"

"Ugh! _Again?!_ This is the fourth time this week!"

The robot spun around twice in the sand, its scanner passing over the bubbles humans and then over Amethyst without stopping. Over the town and the cliff, to the temple with a sudden, wailing beep. Amethyst threw her hands over her ears.

"It's making a weird noise!"

The security bubble did little to lessen the droid's affects as it started off in a steady stride toward its destination. Out from the door came three flashes of movement, the three Crystal Gems each weilding their personal weapon as they landed with a thud, a silent shift of sand, and a squeak.

"It's another Peri-_thingie_!" Amethyst reported and, taking the point from her comrads, pulled out her own weapon.

Pearl pointed her weapon, then hesitated. "I've never seen one that _big_!"

Spinel snickered. "that's what she said."

"Spinel, this is no time for those crudge jokes!" Pearl scowled, "What is it doing?"

"It won't be doing anything in a moment. Amethyst, you're up."

The purple gem grinned."Ya got it, G-squad."

Amethyst snapped her whip twice in the air in a show of grandure before she launched herself off the ground to land directly in front of the bot. It hesitated at the sudden blockade and, a few whorls later, started to try and go around her.

"No you don't!"

Amethyst raised her whip again and brought it down hard against the panel where the leg had come out. It cracked and fizzled at the damage and the leg dropped as if it had just been severed, or as if it's connection had been lost. Steven almost felt a twinge of pity when he heard the screech that followed the attack. Almost like an animal, stumbling as it's three remaining legs fought to gain the balance lost by the fourth, spinning around as it's cries grew louder and louder.

Amethyst broke off a second leg, the the robot fell with another, gut-wreching wail as it found itself unable to stand. Third leg removed. Fourth leg.

"Time to whip this goober into slush!"

Amethyst raised her weapon to do just that, but when a sharp point pierced the metal, it wasn't her weapon that did the damage. Pearl was easily able to sliced through the metal, and then lauched herself off the smooth surface and back a safe distance away before the robot could do what all the other ones had done, and explode into a thick, green goo.

"Dude." Amethyst was covered head-to-toe in the substance, her eyes resting on Pearl. "That was my turn."

"Ewww." Spinel laughed and waved her arms, spraying the goop everywhere. "We're all gooey!"

"Careful, Spinel." Garnet was already cleaning it off of her body and beaming the goop from the sand into her gems. "We still don't know what this stuff is.'

"It's sticky is what it is! Hey Amy!"

Spinel grinned and held out her arms. It took Amethyst a second to catch on, but when she did, she grinned the same and opened her arms.

"GOOP HUG!"

They fell into each others arms with a sickening squelch, squishing their slime-covered bodies together and sharing the grossness.

Pearl gagged. "That is _vile_!"

Amethyst and Spinel stopped hugging. They turned to Pearl with evil looks in their eyes.

"No!" Pearl, the only gem spared from the marble bots goopy wrath, began to back up. "Don't you _dare_ get that stuff on me!"

"_COME HERE P_!"

"_It's lovin time!_"

Pearl screamed and ran. Amethyst dove into a dash to pursue her with Spinel squeaking not too far behind

"Steven." Garnet said softly, "You can lower your bubble now."

"Oh. Right."

The bubble popped.

"That was amazing!" Connie's eyes reflected her glee, "Peridot? Isn't that the weird gem you told me about? The one who tried to come to earth?"

"Yeah... we stopped her once before, but I guess she can send that stuff from space."

"That's _incredible_! I love hanging out at your place."

"And we love havin' ya!" Spinel appeared suddenly behind them with a wave.

Two more creatures covered in goop and sand wandered over, the taller looking unimpressed while her small companion seemed pleased.

"Goop hug!" Amethyst snickered.

Garnet crouched down and scopped up Pearl, Spinel, and Amethyst in one quick motion "Goop hug."

* * *

"Hey Steven! What's up?"

Before Steven could respond, Connie asked another question.

"Have you read more 'Unfamiliar familiar'?"

"Yeah, but..."

Connie squealed. "It's amazing, isn't it?" Her smile could be heard even through the receiver, "How far'd you get?"

Steven picked up the book to look at the cover. "I'm in the middle of one of them, but I'm really confused. They keep talking about this Plinkman guy who died. Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Plinkman...? But... that's Lisa's da- _Steven_. You are reading them in _order_, right?"

Steven's heart dropped. "There's an order?"

"_What_?!"

"Ah, I didn't know Connie I swear!"

"How do you assume a series book doesn't have an order?"

"I don't read much! I mean, I read some comic books, but mostly Spinel just reads them to me."

"So you've... _never_ read a book? And no, comics _don't_ count! And nothing 50 pages or less."

"Uh..."

"Oh my God, Steven... listen, I'll tell you the order. It's..."

Connie's voice cut out.

"Connie? _Connie_?"

A distorted version of her voice crackled through, but Steven couldn't understand it.

"Connie's I'm gonna have to have to call you back." He hung up.

"What's wrong, Steven?" Pearl hummed softly, not even looking up from the soup she was cooking.

"I dunno. Connie's voice just went all statically."

"Well maybe you just lost connection." Pearl suggested, "Humans thing their technology is so flawless, haha, but it fails so often! You'd think they'd get better at it."

Garnet stood up from the couch and looked straight up at something Steven couldn't see. "Something has entered the atmosphere."

Everything the gems were doing stopped. Pearl stopped stirring her soup, Spinel stopped playing with the rainbow slinky she had won at the arcade. Desert and amethyst looked up from where they were laying.

"Let's go!" Garnet rushed out the door.

Garnet's command made the gems all jump to obey; even Desert made an attempt to follow.

"Stay here, Dez!" Amethyst said without so much as a glance back.

Desert sat back down.

"Guys, wait for me!"

The moment Steven reached the door, Pearl threw it back open; not for Steven, but to rush back to her cooking and pull the pot off the stove. Steven joined the others on the porch. All eyes were fixed on the cloudless sky.

"Where is it?" Amethyst asked, "I don't see anything!"

Spinel stuck out her pinky finger and it spiraled into a telescope. She peered through it. "Found it!"

"Let me see!" Amethyst snatched Spinel's hand and peered through. "Yooo!"

"Give it!" Pearl grabbed Spinel's hand and yanked it from Amethyst to look through it herself.

"Hey!" Amethyst snapped.

"Can I see?" Steven asked.

Spinel pulled her hand out of Pearl's grasp. Pearl scoffed and crossed her arms, but said nothing as Spinel offered her spiraled hand to Steven. Steven peered through the warped lens to see the falling ball of fire descended fast across the ocean.

"It's going to fall on Mask Island." Garnet reported, "Let's go!"

No questions were asked. They all filed back inside and piled onto the warp.

"_Ammy_!" Desert reached for Amethyst as she passed.

"Be right back, Treasure!"

"Oh. Okay..."

They warped. Steven looked around as the gems all jumped off the platform and immediately recognized it.

"Hey, this is where my melons live!"

"Huh." Spinel hummed, "Small world."

"Quick, we have to find that thing!" Pearl held her spear ready to strike at any moment. Before she could run off, Garnet held out a hand.

"No, it's going to come to us. We wait."

Not even ten minutes passed before Garnet's vison came true and the marble bot tumbled into view.

"There."

It's green lazers scanned over them with little interest, but gave a joyous beeping at the sight of the warp as it's tiny legs worked to carry it toward the prize.

Pearl narrowed her eyes and lowered her spear. "Is... is it looking for a warp?" She looked between the warp and the bot.

Garnet offered no answer. "Spinel, you're up."

Spinel cracked her fingers and wiggled each one in turn with her tongue sticking out before her elastic arms shot forward and wrapped around the droid.

It gave a few snaps and a long, drawn out whine before it shattered and sprayed the familiar, goopy substance over the surrounding gems. Pearl stepped out of the line of fire just in time to take shelter behind Garnet.

"_Yeesh_!" Spinel tried to shake it from her gloves, but it stuck like thick glue. "What even is this stuff?" She sniffed her hands and then withdrew with a gag.

"All I know is our water bill's going to go through the roof at this rate!" Pearl scoffed.

"Water doesn't work." Spinel said, "I've tried."

"Yeah, you just gotta lick it off!" To prove her point, Amethyst started to lick her coated arm much to the disgust of all around her, even Garnet.

"I just wait until it dries." Spinel countered, "And then pick it off like dried glue!"

"Lava works." Garnet added.

"Well I'm not lava proof." Steven shook his arms, heavy with the substance, and groaned, "So I guess I just have to wait. What was it here to do, anyway?"

"It looked like it was looking for a warp..." Pearl looked at Garnet and the worry pooling from her spread into Steven.

"Well whatever it was looking for then, it's looking for nothing now." She kneeled to beam what remained of the metal into her gemstones, "We can't leave any of this stuff lying around; we don't know what it could do to the life here. Spinel, Amethyst, help me clean up. Pearl, take Steven home."

Pearl sighed and almost grabbed Steven before the coating covering him. "Thank you, Garnet."

* * *

"Hey Steven! Figure out that order yet?"

"Uh yeah, Pearl helped me. I'm half way through the first one."

"So?"

Steven waited a moment to see if Connie would elaborate before prompting, "_So...?_"

"Do you like it?"

"Oh yeah, I love it! Lisa's familiar is my _favorite_! But..."

"_But_?"

"I... just have one question."

Steven could hear Connie take a sharp breath.

"What's your question, Steven?"

"What... _is_ a familiar?" Connie groaned loudly, and Steven pulled the phone away from his ear as he flinched away from the sound. "Connie?"

"_It's_!" Her violent tone quickly turned gentle after another breath, "It's like Lion."

"Oh okay! Just... _one_ more question?"

"_Yes_?" Connie growled back.

"Lion doesn't talk."

"I'm aware?"

"How can Lisa's familiar talk if Lion can't? I'm just really confused. Connie?"

No response.

"Connie?"

Static.

"_Ugh_!" Steven ended the call with a huff.

"What's wrong Steven?" Pearl asked patiently, "Did your call cut out again?"

"Yeah..."

Amethyst gave a loud groan. "Dang it! That means another one of those things are coming, right?"

Garnet considered. "Yes. It will land in the Desert."

"_Great_." Amethyst got off of Desert (the two had been laying together for quite some time, Amethyst on top and halfway down Desert's stomach so that Amethyst's head rested on the other gems gemstone). Desert tried to draw her back, but Amethyst quickly ducked away from her grasping hands as she made her way to the warp pad.

The marble bot was almost upon the warp pad by the time they got there.

"No you don't!" Amethyst jumped and dashed behind it, pulling out her whip to wrap it tight and try to hold it back. The bot continued its forward momentum, barely slowed.

Pearl screamed and summoned multiple spears, firing them all in quick succession to pierce through the marble bots metal. It continued to pull. Garnet growled and both of her gauntlets materalized as she charged, forcing the bot back as hard as she could, even as it pushed against her with an almost greater force and continued its march.

Spinel jumped up and spun her arms around, followed quickly by her body turning into a spinning top as she bounced around like a ping pong ball, slamming into the marble bot with each word she said. "_STOP! COMING! HERE! YOU! STUPID! BALLS_!"

"Guys!" Steven tried to call.

"Yeah!" Amethyst shouted over him, "Let it out Spins! Gets _crazy_ and _smash_ this mother!"

Spinel gave a screech and her assult continued.

"_Guys_!"

Garnet reached into the pink whirlwind with one hand and grabbed Spinel by the neck, stopping her in her tracks. "Stop. Go, Steven."

"Thank you Garnet. How many more of these things are we going to have to fight?"

"I don't _know_!" Pearl answered with a frustrated shout, "_None_ of know why these are here, or where they're coming from! We don't know anything!"

"That's okay..." Steven said softly, "I don't know anything all the time; it's like, my whole life! But I have you guys to tell me about gem stuff, Connie can explain what a familiar is, kinda, and I got dad to tell me weird dad stuff."

"Yes, but nobody knows what these are doing here!" Pearl argued.

"I'm sure _it_ probably does."

There was a pause.

"What?"

"I mean... it _really_ wants to get to the warp. They all wanted to. Maybe it's... trying to do something. We could follow it and see where it wants to go."

Spinel turned limp like a noodle and slid out of Garnet's grasp, flattening the moment she hit the ground with a plopping noise and slitering over to Steven like a flat snake before popping back to her normal proportion. She grabbed Steven by his ear and pulled it hard, stretching it impossibly as she shouted into it with a cave-like echo.

"_ARE YOU NUTS_?!"

The words almost reverberated inside Steven's head as he pulled away and his ear snapped back to normal. "_Ow_!"

"Who knows what could go wrong?!" Pearl said, "It's _far_ too risky!"

"We can't keep fighting these things forever." Garnet said, then quickly added, "Well we _can_... but I don't want to. Let's do it Steven's way." She let go of the robot.

"Yeah!" Steven ran forward and touched the cold metal, "Let's follow the funky flow!"

Garnet scooped up Pearl, Spinel, and Steven and hoisted them all on top of the marble bot.

"We're so dead." Amethyst retracted her whip and quickly jumped to join.

Garnet snapped Amethyst by her hair and put her beside Steven, between Garnet's legs. Garnet had one arm wrapped around the two smaller Crystal Gems, and the other wrapped around Pearl at her side. Spinel rode on her shoulders like a child, wrapping slippery arms around Garnet almost like a harness holding her in place.

"Alright big guy. _Mush_!" Steven tapped the marble bot gently as it struggled to maintain the weight and its own balance as it wobbled over to the warp. It spun around twice like a dog getting comfortable before settling down on the warp and activating it through the hyperspace. It took them to a familiar place.

"The kindergarten." Garnet said.

Just as desolate and dead as Steven remembered it to be, lined in holes and stones.

"Oh, now _you're_ on my case about that too_, Robo-boy_?!"

The marble bot gave an almost affirming whistle. It stood back on unseady legs and hobbled off of the warp.

"Oh, why _here_?" Pearl whimpered, "This place was already damaged enough by the gems incubated here!"

"Yeah... just rub it in why don't ya..."

Pearl completely disreguarded Amethyst and reached into her gemstone, "That's it! It's confirmed! These things are up to no good!"

"_Wait_!"

Pearl stopped, her spear of light half-way out of her gemstone.

"We don't even know what it's doing here!" Steven went on, "Can't we just... see where it wants to go?"

"Garnet?" Pearl looked to the leader.

"Hm. Steven's way."

Pearl sighed and let the spear slide back into her gemstone. The marble bot paused to scan a few of the holes.

"What does it want here?" Spinel asked quietly.

"Maybe it just wants to see where Amethyst was made?" Steven suggested.

Amethyst crossed her arms. "Maybe it should mind its own buisness."

The marble bot started to walk again, lifting them over the same broken drill that Amethyst had knocked over.

"I hate it here." Pearl huffed.

"But..." Steven tried.

"Steven, no." Spinel said, "She's right. I don't think we should be here." Her pigtails pulled back as she gazed around at the dead land.

"Oh come on!" Steven gently stroked the cold metal, "Can't you feel this guy's funky flow? He's a funk master." Steven kissed the metal.

"Steven, don't kiss that! You don't know where it's been!" Pearl objected.

Spinel gently pet the marble bot as Steven had. "Yeah. I can definetely feel the funk coming off of this one."

Pearl crossed her arms. "I can't believe we're doing this."

Their momentum stopped.

Steven looked down at their ride. "Why'd you stop little buddy?"

"Something's happening." Garnet grabbed everyone in her arms and leaped to solid ground.

The marble bot began to vibrate before it's legs retracted but, instead of falling, it hovered in the air. It flipped upsidedown and folded in on itself until a sphere turned into a pyramid shape with a drill point and began to dig into the ground.

"See?" Steven beamed, "I _told_ you we'd find something cool! Let's go!"

Without another word, he leaped onto the rapidly descending platform and into the dark.

"_STEVEN_!"

Before he knew it, the gems had all landed beside him.

"Hey guys." He snickered, "Going down?" But then frowned. "Are you okay?"

The horror emminated from each of them in different ways. From Pearl was a sour, bitter sensation that could almost taste, like biting into a lemon; from Amethyst, it was like a racing heartbeat except in his gem, constricting and pulsing and screaming; from Spinel, it was more subtle but still sickening, like a mouthful of sand and heat on his skin; Garnet's was probably the worst, horror like black licorice hidden behind a false facade of strawberry. All of these, swirling around his stomach and into his gem like a sickness that made him weak at the knee and almost want to hurl.

"What is this place...?" Pearl was breathless when she asked.

As they descended, the walls of the earth crust passed them quickly, and the only light was that from Pearl's glowing gem. Spinel took a step closer to Steven and wrapped her arms around him, drawing the child close to her chest as the earth's crust around them gave way to an open cavern of darkness, littered with dripping stalactites and the echo of the water droplets as they hit the ground hundreds of feet below. All the gems moved closer, and Steven could feel the warmth spreading between them even if it wasn't physical.

The platform they were riding on came to a slow stop before a long pathway leading to a green-lit room. The drip, drip, drip seemed to be growing louder around them- _under_ them- and when Steven risked peering over the edge he saw the very tip of the pyramid oozing green slime. Perfectly spherical, sprouting four legs the moment they hit the ground and taking off just as fast. They climbed up the walls like a mechanical bugs with their whistling and whirling as they all marched across to the ominous machines.

In their presence, a small podium raised up from the ground and the first bot to reach it scaled its side and jumped up, almost like a hand that, after it was in place, ignited half a dozen screens into life. Garnet didn't waste time in grabbing her group and tossing them just beneath the line of sight. Then there came a familiar voice.

"Established Gem Projection Link with control room. Plug Robanoid has sucessfully landed on planet earth and entered Prime Kindergarten Control Room in facet five. Will proceded to preform status check of Kindergarten."

"It's Peridot!"

Garnet covered Amethyst's mouth.

"Is she trying to reactivate the Kindergarten? Doesn't she know it will destroy all life on earth?!"

Garnet covered Pearl's mouth.

"I'll go ask her."

Steven pulled himself up onto the higher ground.

"_Steven_!"

The gems' whisper-shout wasn't enough to deter him. He sae Peridot's image on the largest of the screens, her eyes so focused on whatever task she was willing her robanoids to do that she didn't even notice his approach.

"Now accounting for operation injectors. Checking for aberrations in perimeter. Ugh, all this gem tech is simply archaic!"

"I dunno. I think it looks pretty neat."

The screens froze. All of them, except for the one projecting the peridot, fell apart and landed in shambles as the largest screen enhanced and turned to look at him.

"Hi!" Steven waved, "I'm Steven!"

Peridot's bulging eyes and hanging mouth quickly turned turned back to her normal bored expression as she whispered into her wrist. "There appears to be an infestation of "_Steven's_" in the Kindergarten."

"Daw." Steven gave a bashful wave of his hand, "I'm not so bad once you get to know me!"

"Mm." Peridot looked unimpressed. "And how many other Stevens are present in this area?"

"Oh, there's just me."

"Nee-ha! That's a relief!"

"And that's a weird noise!"

Peridot growled. "So tell me. Have Stevens replaced _'humans'_ as the dominant species on earth?"

"Oh no, there's lots of humans!" Steven tried to think of a few off the top of his head, "There's my dad, Connie, Lars and Sadie, Jamie the mailman, Onion... I think... lots of people!"

"Hmm."

"And now I get to ask a question! What are _you_ doing?"

"Oh..." The broken screens pieced themselves back to together and it was as if they fused, creating one mass of metal and electricity in the shape of a fist. "Just picking up where we left off..."

The shadow fell over Steven. He stared up at the rising attack as if his feet were as heavy as bricks that tied him to the bottom of an ocean. Even when it came swinging down at him, he couldn't bring himself to move. And he didn't need to.

Garnet met the force of the swing with equal measure and both stopped in a stalemate. Peridot turned back around at the sound.

"A gem?! Gah!"

Pearl leaped up beside Garnet brandishing her spear, Amethyst soon rushing to her side with a whip in her teeth. Spinel weilded her mallet as the bounced to Garnet's other side with a cartoonish growl.

"_More_?! But the Red Eye didn't report the presence of any gems on this planet!"

"That's because we destroyed it!" Pearl declared proudly.

"That was _you_?!" Peridot's visor-tinted eyes flicked from Garnet to Amethyst and to Spinel, passing over Pearl without even taking her into account. Disgust, disintrest, and curosity. "But the records say that gems were wiped out on earth... wait a minute. YOU'RE THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN DESTROYING PLUG ROBANOIDS! Are you the reason the homeworld warp is down _again_?!" She gave a vicious, agravated shout, "Why do you keep destroying my things?!"

"Because we are the_ Crystal Gems_!" Pearl slammed her spear down on the ground in a bold pose, "We're still alive! And we're still the guardians of this planets and all its living creatures!"

Spinel whistled her agreement, and Amethyst howled hers.

"Yeah! What she said!"

Peridot blinked, and looked down at one of the screens, "What is a... '_Crystal Gem_'? And what is _that_?" Her question was directed toward Spinel.

"Oh gosh." Spinel clapped her hands together and blinked long, faux eyelashes, "Most call me beautiful, but _you_ can call me any time."

She winked and blew a kiss at Peridot, the red lipstick flying through the air and into the screen. Peridot touched her face with a look of bewildermind and mild terror.

"How did I feel that...?"

"Enough talk."

Garnet gave a burst of power and sent the metal hand flying off balance.

"Hey! Stop that!" Peridot wailed.

Another hand materalized. Amethyst was there to try and stop it's momentum with her whip, only to be thrown along with it while Pearl jumped to her aid. Garnet charged the origonal hand and brought her gauntlets together to swing at it.

"How dare you! I'm doing this one way or another!"

Amethyst got another grip on her weapon and dove into a speedash to bring the second hand along with her; already inpailed by a dozen spears, ir easily gave way to her speed. Garnet smashed the origonal offending hand one last time before it shattered.

"You're just making it _really_ _difficult_!"

"Amethyst! Now!" Garnet pointed toward a large crystal embedded in the wall.

Amethyst picked up as much momentum as she could before releasing her grasp completely and sending the second hand flying into the crystal and fracturing it into thousands of pieces.

"I'm reporting this-"

Peridot's screen lost connection and fell apart. The small, docile bots around them retracted their legs back into their bodies and fell still like a turtle in its shell. Pearl picked one up and carfully put it in her gem.

"I... might have gone a bit far this time..." Steven admitted.

"No." Garnet wasted no time in saying, "You weren't completely wrong. We learned something new because of your decisions."

Steven's heart fluttered at the praise. "So I did good?"

Garnet looked down at him. "No."

* * *

"No luck?"

Steven sighed. "No..." He looked sadly down at the phone in his hand, "She usually answers on the first or second ring..."

Spinel put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure it's fine!"

Spinel's words seemed to summon a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Steven was the first up, and the first to answer the door.

"Steven!" Connie stepped inside without an invitation. "Get your coat."

"_Connie_!" Steven threw himself at her and hugged her tight, but quickly withdrew, "Wait, what? My coat?"

"Yeah, the think you put over your shirt to keep warm." Connie snarked.

"But- but I have so much to tell you! I've been trying to call-"

"Then tell me on the way. Get your coat, and the books."

"The way where?" Steven obeyed as he spoke, "What are we doing?"

"We're going to the library!"

"Beach City doesn't have a library. Not since that Malworm incident."

"We're going to the Gold Crest Library, and don't you dare try to talk your way out of it! You've been blowing me off all week, and you're not doing it again."

"I haven't though!" Steven insisted, "Peridot's droids-"

"I don't care about Peridot! And neither should you! You're a kid. We're going to the library so you can finally read the books in peace without being constantly interrupted, and we can finally talk without the signal cutting out. I'm sure the gems will be okay without you for a few hours."

"Guys...?" Steven looked over at Garnet in particular.

"Go ahead Steven." When Spinel went to talk, Garnet raised an arm to silence her. "_Just_ Steven."

Spinel deflated like a balloon.

"Okay. Thanks Garnet!" Steven took Connie's hand as she offered it and started to pull him out.

"Come on Steven! My dad's waiting in the car!"

"Bye guys!"

"Bye..." Spinel waved sadly, "Have fun..."


	36. Rose's Scabbard

The app finally downloaded.

The internet at the Beach house wasn't the best, but it was still just in range of The Big Donut's free signal as long as he sat up in the corner of his loft. A few cracks split the screen, but he had gotten used to their obstruction, the call of the app store beconing him further until his screen was filled with nothing but games. The background was still of him and Connie (he wasn't quite sure how to change it, even if he wanted to) and a few of the apps still had Connie's accounts saved into them; she said she trusted Steven with her details, but he still planned to delete them later so he wasn't tempted to snoop.

The loft shook as Garnet jumped up into it, as Spinel stretched to her side and as Amethyst and Pearl took the steps like Steven always did, one for the convinece and the other to set a good example. Steven slowly put his phone down.

"Am I in trouble...?"

"Of course not Steven!" Spinel tried to reassure, but the grim looks all around the room told him otherwise, "Why would you think that?"

Steven ringed his hands together and cast his guilty gaze onto Garnet. "Because I talked to Peridot..."

Garnet kneeled down in front of him. "Steven."

"Yes Garnet?"

"We're going on a trip."

Steven pouted. "Okay. When will you be back?"

"You missunderstand. You're coming too."

"Really?!" Steven stood, and almost immediately lost his balance. Garnet's hands were there to catch him just as quick.

"Regrettably, yes." Pearl huffed. "With Peridot knowing about us, and us not knowing what she has planned..."

_I'm reporting this!_

"... we can't leave you. Not for one second. If anything happened, we might not be there to protect you. We need to stock up on weapons."

"Weapons? But... don't your gemstones make those?"

"No, Steven, we keep weapons _inside_ our gemstones, like a storage unit. We all have countless weapons in our gemstones for different purposes, but of course we have our favorite. I have my spears..." She pulled out her spear for the demonstration, "Garnet has her gauntlets..." Garnet summoned her gauntlets, "Amethyst has her whips." Amethyst summoned her whip. "Spinel-"

"She has a mallet!" Steven finished. Spinel summoned a smaller version of her mallet.

"Yes." Pearl gave a patient smile, "And you, presumably, have a shield like your mother did. Now, that's a special case as it's not as much as weapon as it is a power. Rose's weapon was lost, sadly, but that doesn't mean you can't find one of your own! The more weapons we have, the more chance we have to gain the upper hand in unexpected situations. Right Garnet?"

"Right. You will need something to protect yourself Steven, and we know just where to find it."

"Really? Where?"

* * *

Steven question was answered when they warped. The field of danger and artifacts looked as if giants had once fought there, axes as big as house that had to have wielded by creatures of monsterous proportions. Hammers with vines wrapping around their handles and swords embedded to their hilt in mud and mush. Strawberries littered the battlefield and covered the forgotten weapons in vines and berries as they worked to reclaim them into the earth. Some of the berries were almost as big as Amethyst was, while others seemed normal and untouched. Looking up, Steven saw several islands connected to nothing but the air.

"_Woah_!" He was the last one standing on the warp, but he didn't care, "This place is even bigger and more weapon-y than I remember!"

Spinel stopped to look back at him. "But you're never been here."

"Oh yeah." Steven hopped off the warp to catch up to the gems. "_Woah_!"

It seemed Pearl couldn't stop smiling. "See? This is what I _love_ about the earth! It reclaims everything horrible and turns it into something _new_!" She touched one of the bigger strawberries with a gentle hand. "This place was decimated the last time I saw it, and now it's filled with new life! This was the site of an historic battle. Every weapon here was left by a gem over five thousand years ago!"

"Well what happened to them?" Steven touched the same strawberry as Pearl, "I mean, didn't they know they could just beam their weapons back into their gems?"

Pearl's expression fell into one of horror and sympathy and heartache. She placed a hand on Steven's shoulder as she bent to look him in the eye.

"Steven... when a gem is shattered... they don't have a place to put it back into. No owners to reclaim them, so they were just... _discarded_.

Steven didn't like the sound of the word and his heart ached but he didn't know why. "_Shattered_...?"

Garnet interupted the conversation by ripping a massive, purple battle axe out of the ground and hefting it over her shoulder. "Never know when you might need one of these."

Just like that, all the gems went their seperate ways to pick through the weapons remaining. Even as Steven searched for something, anything, that might suit him, his mind couldn't leave that word. Shattered. He knew what it meant, but hoped he didn't. He knew what happened in war, but somehow that knowledge had never came to mind reguarding the gems. They were good, weren't they? They weren't killers...

All the weapons Steven were far too big and far to heavy and far too stuck.

"Steven!" Pearl called as she pried a baton from between two stones, "Stay where we can see you!"

"Yes Pearl!"

There came a rustling and Steven stopped moving to see if it had been him. Thw noise continued. He sonly withdrew his hand from the spear he was about to pick up, looking around the berries for any sign of life beyond.

"Hello?"

The bushes parted, and out padded a giant, bubblegum-maned beast.

"Lion! You scared me!"

Lion shook out his mane, the roar following muffled by a pink something in his maw.

"What's that you got in yout mouth little buddy?"

Lion huffed. He stalked the rest of the way back over to Steven and rubbed against him. Steven was knocked to the ground by the force of the affection.

"Lion, _no_!" Steven couldn't stop the onslaught of laugher as lion flopped down beside him, rolling in the mud and grass as he grunting his playful intent. "Okay, okay! Drop it! _Drop_ it!"

Lion opened his mouth and let the artifact fall. Steven climbed back to his feet and picked it up, rubbing off the slobber and dirt as best he could to try and get a look at the obscured sigil carved into its side.

"Huh. Looks like a carrier thing for a sword..."

"Steven!" Pearl's voice sounded again, "Where'd you go?"

Steven raised his discovery above the vines. "Over here! Lion found something cool! It's a sword thingie!"

Pearl was there before Steven could even finish, snatching the find from his hand and staring at it under the light of her gemstone, eyes wide as saucers.

"That's Rose's _scabbard_." She breathed.

"Her what?"

Pearl didn't answer. "If it's here, then..."

"Mom fought here?"

"That's right!" Pearl finally said, putting a hand to her chest in a proud pose. "And _I_ fought alongside her!" The pride and excitement in her voice was undeniable.

"So cool!" In Steven's eyes, Pearl seemed brighter than ever. "I wish I could've been there to see it!"

"No you don't." Steven hadn't even heard Garnet approach, "Countless gems were broken here. It was a maelstrom of destruction and death."

Pearl jumped in front of her with a nervous grin. "But we won! Your mother lead us to _glorious_ victory!" Pearl pulled out her spear and fell into a crouch. "The odds were against us," She struck out, strong and true, "And our heart's were uncertain." She put both hands to her chest and closed her eyes, "But we chose to _fight_ alongside Rose!" She raised her spear to the sky, "And here we made our stand against Homeworld and..."

"And lost _many_ friends." Garnet concluded bitterly, "It is not something to be remembered fondly."

"Eh... sorry Garnet..."

"Let's get back to looking."

* * *

"This is great!" Amethyst could barely walk under the weight of her gathered horde; she had to take multiple trips just to get everything back to the house. "My room's been needing a new pile!"

"Why not just put that junk in your gem? Spinel suggested, "It'll make carrying it a lot easier.

"Eh, I like seeing it. Especially _this_ bad boy!" Amethyst's hair reached out like an extra hand to grab a massive hammer from her collection and wave it around.

"_Aght_! Not in the house!" Pearl scolded with a sharp tongue; the only thing she had brought back from the expedition was the scabbard held tightly to her chest.

"Ugh! _Buzzkill_!" Amethyst stuck out her tongue.

"Here." Spinel grabbed a few of the artifacts from Amethyst and the fear was immediately evident on the quartz's face. "Don't worry! Just helping you carry."

Amethyst's eyes never left Spinel.

Pearl sighed and sat on the couch, Steven climbing on beside her; he hadn't gotten anything from the mission, either. Everything was too big or too heavy or too sharp. He rested his head against Pearl's side and wrapped an arm around her.

"What is it Steven?" Pearl asked kindly.

"Can you tell me more about mom?"

Pearl gasped softly and a warm smile split her face. "Of course, Steven. She was courageous and brilliant and..." She looked at the painting of Rose, "And _beautiful_... sometimes you just look _so_ much like her. So maybe... _you_ should hold onto this instead..."

She passed the scabbard over to Steven.

"Woah..." Steven ran his finger along it, "Thanks Pearl. If anything tries to eat me, I'll bop em with this!"

He jumped up and swung the scabbard, falling into the crouch he had seen Pearl in so many times. Pearl gave a gentle laugh.

"Form's not bad Steven, but it's far from proper for a sword. If you had a spear, however, it would be almost perfect. And that's just the scabbard, it held your mothers sword. Nothing else could fit so perfectly inside, and it's upsetting to see it's been incomplete all this time..."

"Well let's complete it!" Steven suggested, "Where's the sword?"

"I... don't know. Rose hid it away after the war, she couldn't stand to look at it. Kept her hiding place secret, even from _me_, and I was her sole confidant! For the words she could share with no one else, I was there to listen."

"Why'd she keep so many secrets?"

"She _had_ to, Steven! It's the mark of a great leader, knowing just what to keep hidden from those you are trying to protect..."

"But... if she wanted to protect them, shouldn't she _not_ keep any secrets? So they can know about the threats?"

"Of course not!" Pearl seemed horrified, "They'd all panic!"

"But when they stop panicking then they'd be prepared and they wouldn't have to panic later when they're fighting."

"Steven your mother knew what was best!" Pearl got to her feet to prod Steven's chest with a snarl, "She kept things hidden for a reason! There would be total anarchy!"

"But... you said she told _you_ everything and I don't see any anarchy."

"Do not question Rose's methods!"

"But if I don't have questions how will I get the answers?"

"You know the answers when we decide it's best to tell you!"

Steven's heart hurt, his gem too. "Okay..." He could feel tears beginning to burn his eyes, "But can I ask you _one_ more question?"

"You just did." Pearl sat down and took a breath, "But sure."

"What did the sword look like?"

"Well that I _can_ answer!"

Pearl beamed a hologram into life and twirled it around in a light show as she spoke. "It's a straight bladed saber that's pink with a red handle. There are vines etched in the guard that connect to a rose-shaped pommel."

Steven recognized it immediately. "Oh, I know where that is!"

"Wha- huh?" The hologram fell apart.

Steven got up and ran outside.

"Lion! _Lion_!"

"Steven! What are you doing?" Pearl was beside him in an instant.

"_Lion! Lion_!" There's a weird pocket dimension in lion's mane filled with all sorts of treasures and stuff- I saw the sword in there."

"Steven, that is preposterous!"

The rest of the gems filed out of the house at the shouting, Amethyst and Spinel looking around for any sign of danger until they looked at each other and shrugged. Garnet didn't say a word.

"No it's not!" Steven defended, "There were video tapes in there too! and a chest and crystals and bubbled gems and a T-shirt and a flag-"

"Wait. A flag?" Pearl looked thoughtful. "Can you describe it?"

"Um."

Lion landed beside Steven in a rush of wind. With a shout and an expression of shock, Pearl fell bacl against Garnet to get away from the powerful beast.

"Now I can! One second!" Steven took a deep breath and plunged himself _inside Lion. The world was tinted pink, the grass and the sky and the land on the island. The flag on it's peak, the strange words that always hung in the air still ringing loud in his ears._

_Rose, this is how we win!_

Steven popped back out with another breath. "It's like... there's vines... there's like two ninja stars in the middle, and a little sideways triangle..."

Pearl's thought only turned to concern. "That's the rebellion flag. Steven...? Did you just... go _inside_ that lion?!"

"Dude!" Amethyst jumped up on Garnet's shoulder and her front slipped halfway down the leader's chest, "That was _awesome_!"

"How did you do that?"

"Oh, did I not tell you? Um. Lion sat on my face a couple times and took me into a weird pocket dimension in his mane. Now I can do it on command." He reached into Lion as proof.

The group seemed to blink almost as one.

"That... _can't_ be..." Pearl held her arms out in front of her as she slowly approached the lion, delicate hands pressing into his mane as he stared down at her with dangerous eyes. Nothing happened. "You don't think this _monster_ has anything to do with Rose, do you...?"

"Well... he _is_ pink." Amethyst pointed out.

Garnet nodded along. "It's pretty obvious."

Pearl pulled back as Lion gave a warning growl. "But... Rose never had a lion..."

"Well it seems like her stuff in there." Steven said, "There's even a shirt that says Mr. Universe!"

"And he did accurately describe the flag." Garnet added.

"No!" Pearl stomped her foot in a sudden rage, blinking eyes that spawned tears. "Rose _never_ had a lion! Because if Rose _had_ a lion I would have _known_ about it!"

"Rose kept many secrets." Garnet was cool in the face of Pearl's seething anger, "Even from us."

"BUT NOT FROM _ME_!"

Steven grabbed at his curls as a red-hot fire shot through his body in a burning inferno. The scabbard dropped to the ground.

"I was the one she told everything too!"

Every word was like a new wave of pain to scorch Steven's gem.

"Secrets she kept from _all_ of you!"

Suddenly the rage was double sided, two sources striking at the same time and meeting at the middle. Steven would have fallen if Garnet wasn't there in a instant to catch and cradle him in cold, icy arms. Amethyst scrambled down the leaders body and landed with a snarl in front of Pearl.

"Yo, you're not the only one who misses her!"

Pearl's fury rised in an almost visible tidal wave .

"Guys..." Steven buried his face in the crook of Garnet's arm.

"You can't understand how I feel!" Pearl snarled to the smaller gem, "None of you had what _we_ had!"

A third spark began to heat, and suddenly Garnet's chill was the most comfortable place in the world.

"And what was that?" Spinel's squeaky voice joined the fray, gritted teeth and seething fury.

"She probably just wanted to protect you like everyone else, like you said..." Steven spoke as loud as he could, but it wasn't much.

"What do _you_ know?!"

Steven was sure his skin was on fire, melting from the muscle and bone as the agony in his gem exploded like an eruption of lava.

"You never even _met_ her!"

The lava spilled out in the form of tears.

"Don't shout at him!" Spinel got between them with a growl.

"Don't shout at _me_!" Pearl shot back!"

"We _all_ miss Rose!" Amethyst snarled.

Pearl gritted her teeth. "_Not. Like. Me!_"

She shoved Amethyst to the ground and nearly Spinel too as she shoved past them, grabbing the scabbard as she left. Garnet side stepped out of her way to let the Pearl storm past. Amethyst quickly pursued her, making fists and shouting as tears began to form in her eyes as they had in Pearl's.

"Fine! Go cry about it!"

Pearl warped away, and immediately a weight lifted off Steven's shoulders.

"Where'd she go?"

Garnet shushed his gently and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I _hate_ it when she gets like this!" Amethyst jumped on all fours and dashed away to her room, leaving skidmarks in her wake.

Steven couldn't help but think of her as a hypocrite.

Steven looked up at Garnet. "Garnet?"

No response.

"Is she okay?"

No response. Steven hung his head for a few seconds.

"Spinel...?"

"Not not Steven..." Spinel walked away.

Garnet wordlessly placed Steven on the ground and she, too, left. Steven looked up at the only companion remaining,

"Well then I'm gonna go find her. Do you know where she is?"

Lion closed his eyes and lowered his head. His pressed his cold nose against Steven's hand.

"I'll take that as a yes!"

Lion plopped on huis stomach, hunkering down as low as his massive frame allowed. Steven's heart fluttered and he gasped.

"I've been chosen."

He walked around to Lion's side and gave an expirimental tug on his mane. Lion didn't flinch. So Steven started to pull himself up by handfuls of thick, silky fur until he sat on the back of his gentle giant. Lion stood slowly, and Steven fell forward to embrace his mane and hold on tight.

"Okay Lion, I'm ready."

Lion squared his haunches and wiggled them before thrusting his head forward in a raspy roar that ignited a portal of swirling pink.

"Okay Lion. Take me to Pearl!"

Lion lunged forward and then they were falling through the light. Blinding, surrounding like a hug or a warm blanket, whispering that he couldn't quite make out. Lion was a hot pressure beneath him, an anchor to stop from completely losing control. When they landed it was with an elegant rush and a soundless touchdown in the strawberry fields.

There Pearl stood, cradling the scabbard and facing away from them. They were so quiet in their approach, she didn't even notice them until Steven called out.

"Pearl?"

Pearl nearly dropped the scabbard in her start, turning around to face Steven with wide eyes brimming with tears. Then she turned and run, launching herself from the earth in a single elegant bound to land on one of the floating islands above. And then another, and another, and another. Climbing higher and higher and higher with weightless jumps.

Lion pursued her like prey.

"Pearl! Wait for me!"

Lion's jumps were just as effortless, gliding through the air like a bird and landing with gentle paw steps. Pearl turned around and shot a spear blinding, just barely landing in front of Lion. Lion's momentum didn't falter.

"Get that think away from me!"

Lion jumped up to the next mound of flying earth and stopped. Steven was quick to slide off of him and give his pet a gentle past on the shoulder.

"You'll have to wait this one out buddy."

Lion sat down. Steven turned back to Pearl.

"Okay, Pearl! I had a talk with Lion! He's gonna chill here for a bit!"

Steven's voice sounded through the battle field like a haunting echo.

Pearl jumped up to the next platform and the next, growing smaller by the second.

"Good idea! I'll meet you at the top!" Steven took off his sandles, feeling the hard stones and cold grass stinging his feet as he backed up and jumped. Don't look down.

Steven had a soundless landing on the next island and sighed. He didn't have to look down to see how high he was. He could float, he'd be fine if he fell, but still the thought of it almost made it feel as if he was falling. Pearl still didn't stop.

"Pearl!" He cupped his hands around his mouth to shout up to her, "Did I do something wrong?"

She stopped.

"You _have_ to tell me!" Steven needed to catch up to her. He ran again and jumped again, just as Pearl turned around to face him.

The look in her eye made everything else fade away. The tears, the surprise, the sadness. The cold replacing her heat, her gemstone aglow, filtering the emotions through it in an array of blue. Next thing Steven knew, where he should have landed on solid ground he landed on nothing and was falling.

Then there a hand holding his, something so small yet powerful pulling him back up the instant he had fallen, and Pearl supported him even after his feet reached the floating land once more.

Steven didn't care about the sinking in his gut or the shock through his body. Pearl was there, and that was all that mattered.

"Pearl, you have to tell me what's wrong!"

Pearl squeezed her eyes shut. "Sometimes you even _sound_ like her!" Then she fell down with a heavy thud and a gasp of breath, staring forward through the dam breaking in her eyes and letting the tears flow through faster than before. "Do you remember this place? Do you have any of her memories?"

Steven's mouth was too dry to speak, and so he answered by sitting silently beside her; he knew she didn't expect him to answer.

"We were right here... under the stars... over five thousand years ago..."

The light of Pearl's gemstone took to life in the form of Rose. When Rose spoke, it was Pearl speaking.

"Pearl?"

"Yes Rose?"

"I'm going to stay and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me."

"But I want to!"

"I know you do. Please, please understand if we lose, we'll be killed, and if we win, we can _never_ go home."

"But why would I ever want to go home if you're here?"

The holo-Rose held her hands out to Pearl, but Steven could see Pearl's real hands phasing through the fake ones as she stood on her own under the faux illusion of Rose's help.

"My Pearl, you are wonderful..."

Steven wanted so desperatedly to remember. Willed his gemstone, his heart, his very being to remember, but the words were as foriegn to him as another language. Words spoken with meaning but no context, love without memory. When the Rose faded, the light left with her, and Pearl's color looked somehow duller.

"Everything I ever did I did for _her_..." Pearl's voice was the soft voice of a broken soldier, "Now she's _gone_, but I'm still _here_..."

Steven looked down at his stomach and grabbed it.

"Sometimes I wonder if she can see me through your eyes." She sighed, "What would she think of me now...?"

"Well..." Steven's brown eyes met Pearl's blue ones, "_I_ think you're pretty great..."

* * *

Lion appeared back at the house in a beam of light with Steven and Pearl riding on top of him. They found Garnet waiting for them.

"You're back."

Steven and Pearl slid off silently on opposite sides. Garnet was quick to note the still-empty scabbard.

"I see you still haven't received the sword."

Pearl couldn't bring herself to look at the leader. "I figured we should all be there for it, if it really is her sword. Rose belonged to all of us..."

Garnet gave a proud smile. Without another word, she walked over to the temple door. As her hand met it's surface, the heart and quartz gemstones both ignited as the gems inside were called out. Spinel was the first to emerge, head low and refusing to acknowledge the present Pearl. It took a few more calls before Amethyst finally emerged with Desert in tow.

"I'm comin', I'm comin', _geeze_!"

None of them asked what they were doing there. Steven tried to smile to show them that it was all okay, but received no smiles in response. So he sighed, rubbed his hands together, and said, "I'm going in!"

A breath, and a_ plunge inside. He saw the sword bright under the rosy day and kept his eyes trained on it as he ventured to the island._

Rose...

_The land inclined as he reached the mound and stepped cautiously over the sharp crystals._

...this is how we win!

He grabbed the hilt of the sword and tried to pull it free. But it was stuck.

Rose...

_He grunted as his lungs burned, pulling the sword with even more force as he felt it began to shift in its placement._

...this is how we win!

_He wished that voice would be quiet so he could focus. Pulling, pulling. Slipping slow at first, and then coming loose at once with a flash of sharpened metal._

Rose...

_The sword was much larger than Steven expected, bigger than him on all accounts and heavier too. Pulling it out, it sliced through the air until it went behind his head and pulled him back with it. It flew out of his hands and into the air with another vicious assault and a pop. Steven couldn't heat the voice anymore as he felt himself tumble and saw the grass rising around him- and the bubble before him shattering and dropping it's spiraled gem._

Steven fell out on the floor. "I'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE!"


	37. Bismuth

All eyes were on him.

"What?"

"Don't worry, I can fix it!" Steven jumped back up and _dove into the realm of pink grass._

_The gemstone was still there, a kaleidoscope of ever-shifting rainbows in a sharp-edged spiral. It wasn't too late- he could fix it! Bubble it and put it back before the monster inside took form. But when he reached for the gemstone, when his hands fell just into place about to ensnare it safely back where it belonged, it started to take form._

_Up in the air flew the body it belonged to, white at first in the intial reformation until her skin changed to a dingy gray and her hair into dreadlocks of shifting polychromatics, not one dreadlock staying the same color for very long before shifting its hue; that is, except for a purple M-shaped dread framing her face. Dark pants, dark boots, and a black apron with a pink star._

_She landed with a harsh thud, and even hunched over with her head low she easily dwarfed Steven in her powerful shadow. Then she looked up, flashing eyes white and panicked. Crazed and wild as she searched for a foe that didn't exist until her eyes drifted to the tiny thing in front of her and softened a lovely pink._

_Her eyes then quickly darted beside him and faded back to gray as they narrowed. She slowly found footing enough to stand and start to descend into the grass. Steven followed her gaze to the shining pink metal she had set her sight on._

Moms sword.

_She was going for the sword, his moms sword-_ his _sword_._ Steven didn't know what she would do with it but he didn't want to. He sprinted past, outpacing her lumbering steps enough to grab the hilt of the sword and bring it crashing down with him_ into the real word. He sucked in a breath.

"Rose's sword!" Pearl gasped.

"THERE'S A GEM INSIDE LION'S MANE!"

He was met with four sets of baffled eyes.

"A... gem?" Pearl prompted.

"She's not corrupted, she's normal." He shoved the sword into Pearl's arms. Those words seemed to spark the panic he had been expecting.

"Describe her." Garnet said quickly.

"Hold on!" Steven climbed back into Lion.

_The gem was back on the island now, looking at the shirt hanging from the tree as she had her back to him to read it. She was as high as the branch, taller than Garnet and definitely wider. Powerful muscles rippling beneath gemflesh. She turned back to look at him before he could duck away._

_"Hey, wait!"_

"She's big!" Another breath, another peek.

_She was searching for him in the grass, eyes passing over as he kept himself hidden below her sights. Her hair was almost mesmerizing and every time Steven looked, that was the first thing that drew his attention. Then his eyes went down her arm, to a black star carved just below her shoulder, and under it a smaller triangle. She spotted him._

_"Huh? Hey! Don't go!"_

Steven left again, and breathed again. "With rainbow hair and tattoos!"

"_Rainbow hair...?_" Pearl put her hand to her mouth and turned to Garnet.

"Describe her gemstone."

"Um. It's... an _innie_." He pointed at his chest.

"It... it _can't_ be..."

Steven thought Pearl was going to start crying.

"Can't be what?" Amethyst snapped, almost snarling. Desert clung to her back like a koala, eyes watering with her fear.

"Pearl what's going on?" Spinel asked.

It was Garnet who answered. "Steven, bring her out."

"Okay."

_Steven looked back inside for the final time, looking at the island and the grass all around him. Grass, but no gem. No gray, no rainbow, no huge bulky figure. Until he spun completely around and saw her all at once._

_"Hey! Little friend..."_

_Steven squeaked and ducked under the grass._

_"No, don't go!"_

_Steven slowly popped back up._

_"There, there. That's it." Her voice was soft like honey and just as sweet with a comforting smile. "I believe I'm lost. And there's no one here but us, so how about a little help?"_

_Steven held out his hand, and hers enveloped it in a cold, hard touch._

_"Sorry if I'm a little cold to the touch, little guy. I am a metal after all!"_

_Steven gave a simple nod and grabbed her with his other hand as well, small and fragile against her powerful ones, and pulled her down through the ground and_ out into the living room.

"Wow a total stranger."

Steven kept a hold on the giant as he felt and watched the gems reactions. Spinel gave an awkward smile and a slow wave while Desert said something fast in her native language (Steven couldn't understand it, but was almost certain it was a swear). Garnet was slack-jawed, and the waves shooting off of her was easily overpowered by the same cold, suffocating pressure welling more and more by the heartbeat.

Garnet beamed off her glasses to show three disbelieving eyes. Steven looked up at the rainbow gem, her smile wider than before and eyes flicking between pink and yellow.

"Pearl... Garnet..."

A waterfall of tears spilled from Pearl as she threw her arms up and ran forward. "_BISSS-MUUUTH!_"

There was a flash of something dark in 'Bismuth'. Emotions clinging to the newcomer like briars and stinging her just the same- a memory, maybe?- that was quickly washed away by the gentle touch of the pearl wanting nothing more than a hug. Pearl jumped into Bismuth's arms, and the metal gem caught her the moment she did with a bright smile and rush of glee.

"AHAHAHAHA! You're back!" She threw her arms around Bismuth's neck.

Bismuth howled laughter, tossing Pearl in the air a couple times and catching her safely in broad hands even bigger than Pearl's waist.

"Haha! The Pearl I knew _never_ jumped into my arms like that!" She looked behind her, as if calling to someone that wasn't there, "Hey, did somebody lose a pearl? Who do you belong to?"

Pearl put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly. "_Nobody_!"

"HAHA!"

Garnet walked over with a mile-wide grin. "Okay, settle down."

Bismuth turned her side to Garnet to hold Pearl safely out of the way, using her own body like a shield, "Oh, you're one to talk. Oh, _oh_! Excuse _me_! You're _two_ to talk." Her eyes glanced over Garnet with a smug grin.

Garnet gave a scoff and a playful growl, summoning a single gauntlet and slamming it against Bismuth's shoulder with a loud crash. Bismuth barely flinched.

Confusion overrode everything. _Two to talk...?_ Steven looked at Garnet's hands and their gemstones, then down at his own palms. Two gemstones...

"Where have you been?" Pearl's voice cut through his thoughts, "We thought you had been captured! Or worse, _shattered_."

"Shatter _me_? _Pshh_! Homeworld couldn't lay a _scratch_ on this gem."

Amethyst cleared her throat. Once she was sure her voice was heard, she motioned to Bismuth and said, "Who's this hunk of rock?"

Garnet grinned and leaned against Bismuth. "Guys, this is Bismuth. She's one of the original Crystal Gems!"

Bismuth sat Pearl on her shoulder and flexed. "Hey hey! New recruits! Welcome aboard! We could always use more amethysts. And a desert glass? Ya'll are rare, aincha? _Whoo_. Only ever been spawned on earth."

Desert whimpered and kneeled behind Amethyst to hide. Amethyst stuck out her arm protectively and fixed Bismuth with a cold glare. "She's shy."

Bismuth threw her hands up in surrender. "Didn't mean nothin' by, don't go all savage on me! _Hup_!" She scooped the flustered Pearl off her shoulder and placed her back on the floor, "And beggin' your pardon, I don't think I ever seen anyone like _you_ before. I mean, what should I call ya?"

Spinel shifted uneasily, but her smile remained. "It's Spinel to ya! Spins to my friends!"

"Well it's awful nice to meet you Spinel! I'm Bismuth, as you know!" She held out her hand.

Spinel gave an evil grin and clasped both of her hand around Bismuth's and gripping the metal gem tight, lifting her into the air to shake her entire body.

"_Woaahaha_!" When Spinel finally let her down, Bismuth's voice was still shaking. "That's _quite_ a grip you got there squeaks! Could come in... _handy_."

Amethyst tried, and failed, to stiffle a laugh.

"And who's _this_ little meatball?" Bismuth crouched down with a pleasant smile.

"Hi, I'm Steven!" Steven returned the smile with one of his own, "You were in my lion and now you're in my house."

Bismuth barely reacted. "Well thanks for having me! Now, your grip ain't nothin' like your friend there, is it?"

"No ma'am!"

"Then put 'er there, Steven!"

Steven shook her hand.

"I can't believe it!" There was disbelief in Pearl's voice, "Rose said she lost track of you at the battle for the Ziggurat! She was worried sick!"

Bismuth's happy smile turned into an exression of worry, and her eyes faded white as she looked around. "Where... where _is_ Rose?"

"Um, hi." Steven waved, "Me again. I'm Rose's son, she kinda turned into me. Well, I mean, I have her gem..." He lifted up his shirt as proof, "The rest is rom my dad."

"Oh..." The giant's eyes shimmered to a dull yellow, Steven's gemstone shining bright in the reflective pools, "Well there she is... do... do you know me?"

Steven shook his head. "No. I'm so sorry."

"It's not always easy to understand Rose's choices..." Pearl's voice was weak and quiet, "But we do have to stand behind them..."

Bismuth looked up. "You okay, Pearly Bird?"

Pearl's laugh was a mix of emotions. "Oh, I'd almost forgotten that nickname!I always hated it..."

"_Pearly Bird_?!" Amethyst howled with laughter, "How did I never think of that?!"

"We've had a stressful past couple weeks..." Was all Garnet said.

"But it's _much_ better now that you're here!" Pearl added quickly.

"Hm." Bismuth looked back at Steven. "Rose really is somethin' else..."

Steven didn't know what to say.

"No, I mean it! Rose really is _somethin' else_! Haha! Wow! And we're building bases out of _wood_ now?" She pried a plank off of the floor, "Whose terrible idea was this? And _where_ is everybody else?" She tossed the wood over her shoulder.

"Everybody else...?" Steven asked softly.

"Yeah, the rest of the Crystal Gems!" Bismuth scoffed, "Biggs, ol' Crazy Lace, Snowflake!"

The room felt ten degrees colder. When nobody responded, Bismuth took it on herself to fill the void.

"Am I missin' something?"

Pearl touched her arm with the most gentle nature. "Spinel, Amethyst... stay here with Steven. Bismuth, there's something Garnet and I have to show you..."

* * *

Maybe it was the dread of what they had to say, or the storm clouds looming over her mind, but the field seemed dark to Pearl even in the daylight. The flowering plants, the memories that ached in her gemstone. The pain that took her years to pass, now fresh in Bismuth's misty eyes.

"No- no way!"

The panic and the heartbreak in her friends voice was enough to brew the same emotions inside Pearls gemstone.

"We were _just_ here! How long was I out?"

Pearl walked over to her slowly as she worked to find the words, wrapping an arm around the solid gem and leaning her head against her side. "It's been about 5,300 years. We, the Crystal Gems, were able to save the earth..."

Bismuth looked down at her. "But we're all that's left of the rebellion, huh?"

Pearl nodded and started to cry.

"Oh come on, Pearl..." Bismuth's voice cracked as she started to cry in sync, "You _know_ I can't take it when you cry like that..."

"I'm sorry..."

"No need for apologizes, sweet thing..." Bismuth took a sharp, ragged breath and smiled through her tears, "Just wipe them tears off that pretty face of yours..."

Bismuth used her thumb to gently wipe the tears, Pearl smiling a genuine smile as she leaned into the comfort and rested her head in Bismuth's palm. Garnet approached on Bismuth's other side.

"Homeworld's final attack on earth wiped out all of the Crystal Gems..."

"Rose was able to protect Garnet and myself, and by the looks of it, she was able to protect you as well." Pearl said.

"I knew those Homeworld elites were twisted! How many of us did they shatter?!"

Pearl covered her mouth. "Oh Bismuth, _no_. They... they _weren't_ shattered."

Bismuth blinked. "No? Then what..." Realization hit her like a brick, "No... _NO_! They... they didn't?"

"They did, Bismuth..." Pearl hiccupped as her tears returned, "I'm so sorry, but they did..."

"Crazy Lace?!" Bismuth grew more frantic as she listed off the names, "Snowflake? Larimar? _Biggs_...?" Hurt flashed in her eyes.

"All of them, Bismuth. Every single one."

"No!" Bismuth howled as she fell, slamming iron fists down into the earth and sending mud and fruit flying. Pearl sat down beside her. "If I was there- I could have _stopped_ it!"

Pearl did the only thing she could think to do; stay quiet, and gently stroke Bismuth's back.

"It's not like they stopped trying..." Garnet grumbled.

Bismuth perked up. "What's that?" She looked from Garnet to Pearl.

"For the past month, these... robanoids have been coming to earth. "Just days ago we followed one of them to the old kindergarten!"

"She was trying to reactivate it...?"

"We stopped her." Garnet said. "But it's only a matter of time before another attempt is made."

"_Good_." Bismuth wiped her tears and stomped back to her feet, "And here I was thinking I wouldn't get another chance to show those _uppercrusts_ who's boss!" Her voice grew more confident, more proud. More like the Bismuth Pearl knew and loved. "Let's show them what happens when they mess with the _Crystal Gems_!"

"_EEEEEE_!" Pearl squealed and threw her arms around Bismuth, laughter flowing through her like a waterfall of relief.

The bliss was short lived.

"Bismuth, the gems on Homeworld outnumber us by a huge amount, and their technology far surpasses anything we have on earth.

Bismuth dismissed Garnet with a wave of her hand. "What else is new? Don't you remember when you and I took on a whole battalion of Quartz soldiers? We walked out with our stones shining brighter than when we walked in!"

Garnet cleared her throat. "As I remember, it was _three_ battalions..."

"And Pearl? Remember when we stopped that drop ship? I'll never forget the look on that Nephrite's face when you pulled her out of the cockpit!"

Pearl giggled. "I know! How embarrasing for her."

"That's right!" Bismuth's passion ignited her eyes red, "Now if we're gonna beat these upper-crust back to where they came from, ya'll are gonna need some serious upgrades! I'm assuming you ain't had none since I was gone?"

"You assume right." Pearl said, "No one could do upgrades quite as well as you."

"Aw, you flatter me, Pearl. I'll even deck out those new recruits! Just got a feel for them first."

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

Bismuth smirked.

* * *

"Homeworld treats us like _dirt_ cause we don't shine like the elites." Bismuth's speech echoed all around the stadium, bouncing off the fractured walls and bleachers, "But the Crystal Gems are _back_, and we'll give those diamonds another taste of what's coming!" Her hands shifted into twin hammers, slamming together with a great shockwave, "Now show me what you _got_, soldiers!"

Garnet charged Bismuth, leaving streaks of fire in her wake. Bismuth caught the leader between her hammers and stopped Garnet in her tracks.

"Why you holding back? You _know_ I can take the heat!"

With a heave, she sent Garnet flying as if she were weightless.

"Woah!" Steven pulled out his phone and started to record, "Connie's gonna love this!"

Bismuth roared her victory. "Who's next?!"

Pearl came down at her in a dive, flashing her spear, but Bismuth was there to intercept her. Pearl landed on Bismuth's hammered hand with an expert balance.

"Pearl. I don't recall asking you to bring me a spear..." Bismuth launched her back into the air.

Pearl spun a few time in a display of control before aiming the tip of her spear downward. "You won't like how I give it to you!"

On the descent, Pearl fired beams of light in rapid succession at Bismuth as the metal gem backstepped to dodge each one.

"_Lasers_? When did that happen? _Wha_-"

The black tendril of Amethyst's whip wrapped around Bismuth's leg, pulling tight and lifting her as it gave a violent wave and slammed Bismuth back into the ground. She sucked in a quick breath and sat up in the crator left by her weight.

"_Very_ creative, deep cut."

Amethyst came to stand on the edge of the destruction and stare down at her. "Yeah. Guess I am pretty cool."

Bismuth leapped to her feet. "Ain't no _'maybe'_ to it! You're incredible!"

Amethyst's eyes lit up.

"We are powerful! We are important! We _are_ the _Crystal Gems_!"

Amethyst smiled shyly. Bismuth pointed at Spinel.

"You there! Squeaks! What weapon you sportin'?"

Spinel stretched herself over in a single step. "Oh, just a special little something I wiped up myself!" She reached into her gemstone to pull out the cartoonish hammer for all to see.

Bismuth whistled. "That's mighty impressive!"

"Thankies!" Spinel leaned on her hammer. "Found the frame just lying around and made it my own!"

Spinel spun the mallet around a few times before swinging it with a downward force straight at Bismuth. The rainbow gem tried to catch it, which only resulted in her being flattened; not poofed, but _flattened_. When Spinel brought her weapon back, Bismuth shot up like a slinky, wavering back and forth with the sound of an accordion. Spinel laughed, reached to grab the gem by her shoulders, and shook her out like a blanket until she returned to her normal proportions.

Bismuth stumbled backward until she had something to lean against. "What in Diamonds name was that?!"

Spinel rested her mallet on her shoulder. "I call it Spinel logic."

"Well whatever it is, keep it up little squeaker! Wha- _hey_!"

A small cloud of sand worked its way beneath Bismuth and lifted her a short distance off the ground.

"Woah! Nice work from the sand queen over there!"

Steven looked over at Desert; the gem had her hand ignited in a soft red glow as the sand obeyed her every command.

"Hey Steven! Get down here and show us what you're made up!"

"Um." Steven looked over the gem's muscles and whimpered. "No thanks. That's a little extreme for me."

"What?! But it's Crystal Gem tradition to spar before battle!"

Pearl stepped beside her and held her toned arm gently. "Bismuth, he doesn't have much training. Plus he's only flesh and bone."

"So?" Bismuth turned to look at her, "He's still Crystal Gem, inside _and_ out! You have your mother's shield, right?"

Steven shook his head.

"No? What about her..." Bismuth's eyes went white again, "Her sword...? You... I saw you grab it..."

"Yeah, but I dunno how to use it though."

Bismuth scoffed. "What do you mean you don't know? You just stick em with the pointy end, it's not that difficult!"

"Like I said." Pearl added quickly, "Not much training."

"Yeah." Bismuth huffed. "I guess not."

She whispered something to Bismuth and then launched herself off the ground, landing in the bleachers to take a seat beside Steven as the battle below resumed.

"Didn't want you to get lonely." Pearl smiled. "I know Spinel usually stays with you, but Bismuth needs to see her in action as much as possible! Diamonds know that Spinel can be a bit... complicated.

Steven didn't care. "Pearl what's a deep cut?"

"Well that's what Amethyst is!" Pearl answered proudly, "It's when a gem is cut smaller than intended, but it also makes them shine brighter as they're showing off more of their core."

Steven gasped. "_Wow_!"

"Now, the opposite would be called a shallow cut! They're cut bigger than intended and are much duller, since all their core is hidden beneath. They're just as bright as a deep cut is inside, they just don't show it."

"Is Bismuth a shallow cut?"

"What?" Pearl laughed, "No, she's just big! Small actually, when compared to other Bismuths."

"Oh, okay. Pearl?"

"Yes Steven?"

"Are you okay? I mean, you're acting okay, but Amethyst acts okay all the time and she's not..."

Pearl smiled and sighed. "I'm fine, Steven, and Amethyst is too. See?" She pointed down to Amethyst in the areana, "She's practically good as new. Her tantrums don't usually last that long anyway."

Steven didn't believe her. "Pearl, what's happening?"

"Um. Training, Steven." Pearl gave uneasy laughter, "So Bismuth can make us new weapons."

"But your old ones work just fine, why do you need new ones?"

"Well... Bismuth offered, of course. She's trying to get to know Amethyst and Spinel and Desert, and she learns best on the fighting field."

"But I'm not a fighter, and I wanna get to know her too..."

"Oh, Steven..." Pearl put a hand on his shoulder and smiled pleasantly, "How about I ask her to give you some one-on-one time? Something more your speed? I'm sure she'd love it."

"I'd like it too. She seems nice." Steven looked down at her as she faced off against Garnet and Amethyst at once.

"Oh she is!" Pearl rested her hand on her hand as she stared at the fight, "She and her partner Biggs Jasper were the nicest gems I ever met. Always going out of their way to help gems, putting others before themselves..." There came a dreamy look in her eyes as they clouded with memories. "Biggs was beloved by everyone, and Bismuth knew everyone. Whenever she'd make weapons for us they'd always be customized to suit the gem, because she knew every gem was different and unique and the weapons should reflect that."

"You sound like you were close."

"We were..." Pearl broke out of her trance and shook her head, "I mean, Bismuth was close friends with everyone, not just me! She was one of Rose's best soldiers, always on the front lines leading the charge beside Rose, and good with her hands... ugh, I'm rambling, sorry."

"It's fine. But... if she and mom were so close, why was she bubbled inside Lion?"

Before an answer could be stated, Bismuth's voice cut through. "Hey doll face! Coming back down or what?"

"In a moment Bismuth!" Pearl shouted before turning back to Steven, "Don't worry, Steven! You and Bismuth will be besties by the end of the week!" She straightened Steven's shirt and dusted it off.

"Okay, but can you..."

Pearl jumped away.

"...answer my question first...?"

* * *

Bismuth jumped up into Steven's loft. "Hey short stack!"

Steven popped up from his bed. "Hi Bismuth!"

"Mind if I sit?"

Steven shook his head and made room for her to sit beside him. The bed gave a dangerous groan under her weight.

"This a nice place you got here. Build it yourself?"

"Uh." Steven had to consider if it was a joke or not. "No? My dad bought all the supplies and the gems built it."

Bismuth scoffed softly. "Well that explains a lot."

"Huh?"

"Well, Garnet and Pearl aren't exactly builders, and that Amethyst? No way! Spinel sure don't look the type. Though I'd figure this place would have some semblance of structure given you have a Desert Glass with ya."

"We've only had Desert for a few months, and I like the house!" He patted the bed, "It's comfy."

"Yeah? Well it's nothing like our old bases used to be, tell ya what!"

"It's not a base." Steven laughed, "It's a house!"

"Well how's it supposed to keep out invaders?"

"It's not..."

"Then what's the point?"

"Um. To keep all the rain and stuff out, and stay warm so I don't freeze."

Bismuth howled. "_Ha_! You organics! Can't even withstand the weather of your own planet?"

"Well... we _can_, we just don't want to."

"Mm." Bismuth nodded knowingly. "Well, Pearl tells me you want some one-on-one time, hm?"

Steven nodded quickly. "Yes please! I'm not much of a fighter, so I can't really join in with you and the others..."

"Say no more, little man!" She put a hand forcefully on Steven's shoulder, almost knocking the wind out of him, "I know just the thing!"


	38. It's gonna be okay

Steven looked around. "What are we doing back here?"

He recognized the sky arena the moment he saw it.

"Training of course!"

Steven blinked. "Training?"

"I know you said you wasn't so keen with weapons, but how about your fists?"

"Um. I dunno. They're pretty soft." He looked down at his pudgy hands.

"Pearl said you can bubble, right?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Then why not do that? Put bubbles around your fists so you don't hurt yourself."

"Huh... I've only ever put 'em around my entire body... maybe if I..."

He made fists and focused on them as small rosy bubbles encased them.

"That's it!" Bismuth encouraged.

Steven smiled, but the praise was short lived as he made the defense fade. "I don't know, Bismuth. Are you sure the gems would be okay with this?"

"_Pshh_! Why wouldn't they be? They know me!"

"Garnet and Pearl know you, but Amethyst and Spinel can get really protective..."

"Eh, I'll handle them! Just like you need to be able to handle yourself! What, you think the others are always gonna be there to protect your sorry gem?"

"Well... yeah. That's kinda the whole point."

"Seriously?" Bismuth put a hand on her hip, "They need to get their priorities straight! They can't be there always, and when you're alone, that's when you'll be attacked! Homeworld gems don't fight fair, and they definitely won't wait for your backup to arrive before they _shatter_ you!"

"I... just need to stay safe..."

"No, what you need to do is _fight_ _back_! At least hold long enough to hold 'em off! If the others keep coddling you like this, ain't no way you'd _ever_ stand a chance! Do you _want_ to die?"

"_No_!" His cry came out as a cheer.

Bismuth made fists and crouched into a fighting stance. "_Then bubble up!_"

* * *

Amethyst was agitated. Garnet and Pearl knew this stranger, sure, but she didn't. She didn't know her, she didn't trust her. The way she spoke and the way she acted, the way she showed up out of nowhere. To add fuel to the fire, she had even taken the gems' weapons for 'upgrades' but the endless possibilities left a bitter taste in Amethyst's mouth.

_I'll return it better than ever,_ Bismuth had said, _you can trust me!_

Amethyst didn't trust her, and that's why she was stalking her. She had followed Bismuth's warp stream to a snowy mountain and taken the form of a snow leopard to stalk her trail. Deep indentations in the otherwise untouched snow told Amethyst everything she needed to know as massive paws glided expertly over the surface without leaving a trace. When she hit a slippery patch, she dug long, curved claws into the ice for a better grip.

It seemed like hours that she was walking, close enough to hear the heavy steps but not see the giant making them. The path spiraled up the side in an unmistakable gem-made walkway. She could feel the air chill the further they climbed toward the top, not that it bothered her, and the wind howling in her ears was almost deafening. It brought with it clouds of blinding white that the shapeshifter was just barely able to follow. The footprints disappeared but it didn't matter, because she was already there.

The glow coming from inside was a welcomed shelter from the cold, but not one Amethyst dared to take pleasure in. A warm, orangish glow that told of lava, it's vibrant piercing through the snowstorm and bouncing off the white in an enhancing effect. Amethyst could feel the warmth like an oven from her distance as she watched the black shadow go in- and then immediately stumble back out.

Gasping and shaking, leaning her weight against the stone of the mountain as tears turned to ice on her face. She wiped them off and flung the frozen droplets dangerously close to Amethyst's hiding place; Amethyst crouched lower into the snow, almost completely burying her body and flattening it so only her eyes poked over the top. Bismuth looked up.

Amethyst pondered for a second what she was going to do. The trail had ended, and where it might have been was such a deep incline that even Amethyst wouldn't dare traverse; at least, not in her true form. Bismuth seemed to have no such notion of self preservation as she grabbed onto the highest stone she could reach and heaved herself up onto the wall as if she had done it a million times. Scaling the side of the rocky terrain, sending loose pebbles scattering under her weight as she disappeared into the storm.

Amethyst popped up and shook the snow that clung to her fur in clumps. Fur became feathers and paws into talons as she took flight in a continued pursuit.

The storm seemed to settle once they reached the peak of the mountain. Amethyst circled, wide eyes scanning the snow below in an effort to find the lost gem, and when her eyes finally were able to settle on Bismuth, she landed on a nearby tree. The gem had taken refuge near a pool of steaming water, the snow melted all around it from the heat to allow small plants to grow through the open soil.

Bismuth sat near the pool with her head in her hands, lowering her feet under the surface with a sigh. Amethyst could feel the heat the water gave off even at the distance with her claws wrapped firmly around the snow-covered branch. _What is she doing...?_

"Come on, Bismuth..." Bismuth's hands went from her face to pull at her hair, and then brush it back.

Amethyst leaned forward and gave a soft coo as she watched the gem. She watched her for hours, until Bismuth gave up on the water and started her leisure trip back down the mountain. Amethyst never let the rainbow gem out of her sight.

* * *

Steven was practicing. The bubbles over his hand stopped any of the blows from hurting as he repeatedly struck at the tree, not hard enough to hurt it but enough to send shockwaves through his body with each strike. He had started off hitting rocks, but the trees were softer and didn't hurt his wrists as much; Bismuth said he could work up to rocks later. Spinel stretched down beside him out of nowhere.

"Heya Stevie!" She followed Steven's strikes with curious eyes, "Whatcha doing?"

Steven continued to hit. "Practice."

Spinel gave an awkward laugh. "For what?"

"I dunno." He finally stopped to let himself breath. "Bismuth just said to be ready for anything. We've been training."

Her brows furrowed. "Training...?"

"Yeah!" Steven frowned, "Are you mad? She told you right?"

"She didn't tell me anything!"

"Well did Pearl?"

Spinel shook her head. "Nuh uh!"

Steven took a step away from the rage he felt brewing in his playmate.

"She's been training you to fight?!"

The anger wasn't directed at him, but Steven still cowered under its power.

"Well... yeah. Is that bad...?"Spinel took a deep breath and put her hand on Steven's shoulder. "Steven. Methinks you should go play a different game..."

"Okay..." Steven whimpered. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna go have a talk with Bizzy..."

* * *

Spinel was fuming. She stormed into the house ready to explode, preparing for every ounce and fragment of anger and rage to flow out of her in a steaming cloud of smoke. The heat inside her seemed to rival that of a nuclear explosion, and when she saw the center of her fury in the living room she was more than ready to let Bismuth know just how agitated she was- until she saw Pearl.

Pearl was smiling an actual, genuine smile as she talked excitedly to Bismuth, the ringing in Spinel's ears overpowering the words Pearl spoke, but not the emotions she spoke them with. The smile and laugh that was matched by Bismuth, the warmth that seemed to flow into the room and surround the two, so enraptured in their conversation they didn't even notice Spinel entered. They didn't notice Spinel leave either, or collide with Amethyst on her way out.

"Opps! Sorry!"

Amethyst looked up at her. "You see it too, huh?"

"What?"

Amethyst grabbed Spinel and pulled her up into Steven's loft where they couldn't be heard. "How suspicious Bismuth is being?"

Spinel said nothing.

"I don't trust her... I followed her to her forge and she didn't even go inside!"

"What?" Spinel furrowed her brows, "But I thought she was making upgrades?"

"So did I! But she just walked right on by!"

Spinel hummed, and looked back down at the gems talking. "Well... Pearl and Garnet seem to trust her."

"I don't. Do you?"

Spinel thought, and shook her head.

"I'm gonna follow her again; I doubt this was just a one-time thing..."

"Just don't get caught; she could crack you open like a soda pop!" Spinel popped her lips together and waved her fingers in an explosion demonstration.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I like being whole and _un_-popped. But what about you?"

"I was gonna talk to Bismuth..." Pearl said, "But maybe it would be better to just talk to Pearl and Garnet."

"Dude. That is the worst idea!"

Spinel huffed and put her hand on her hip. "You got any better ideas?"

"Er. Well. No."

"Then shut up and let me do my thing!" She flicked Amethyst's nose.

* * *

Amethyst was following Bismuth again. The same path, same trail, same freak-out as she went in and out of the forge. Same effortless climb up the mountain. Amethyst retained her own form for the duration of the journey, passing soundlessly through the sky above as the wind passed through her soft feathers. She landed on the same branch, now coated in a fresh layer of snow as Bismuth took her place beside the water below. The rainbow gem sighed, lowering her feet beneath the bubbling surface and pulling a woven basket out from her gemstone; it was overflowing with all sort of fruits and berries that made Amethyst's beak water at the sheer sight of them.

Bismuth popped a raspberry in her mouth and gave a soft moan as she savored its juices.

"_Mm_! This is _good_!" Bismuth ate a strawberry whole, stem and all, "Hey deep cut, you want some?"

Amethyst was leaning forward to try and get a better look at the assortment, so when her name was called out, her footing was lost and she slipped off of the icy branch. She caught herself in a glide during the nosedive and maneuvered herself to the opposite side of the bubbling pool. Amethyst turned back to her normal form as she came to face the unperturbed Bismuth.

"You knew I was there...?"

"Yeah. I knew you were there the first time, too." Bismuth answered, and then reached into the basket to produce a small black berry. "Kinda hard to sneak up on a veteran, you know."

"Yeah, I guess..." Amethyst kept her eyes fixed on the food.

Bismuth examined the berry with calm eyes, looking at his against the sun as she continued to speak. "These used to be Biggs' favorite back during the war; she ate 'em by the handful! Never could seem to fill her up... here."

She tossed the berry over the water and Amethyst caught it.

"Plenty for both of us."

Amethyst popped the blackberry in her mouth.

"Good, huh?" Bismuth ate a couple blueberries.

Amethyst swallowed the deliciously bitter berry. "_Mmhmm_!"

"Well don't be shy then!" She patted the stone beside her, "I don't bite!"

Amethyst stalked around the spring and came as close to Bismuth as she dared, her head still low as she watched Bismuth for any sign of an impending attack. Bismuth nudged the basket closer to her.

"Here, have what you like. It's all good."

Amethyst grabbed a handful without truly seeing what it was and shoved the fruit in her mouth. The mix wasn't a pleasant one, but Amethyst worked through it nonetheless as Bismuth picked up an apple and took a bite of it.

"So. You gonna ask me?"

Amethyst swallowed. "Ask you what?"

"You know."

Amethyst remained silent to try and display innocence.

"Or, maybe you don't, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm not up to anything nefarious if that's what you're thinking."

"Then... what _are_ you doing up here!"

"There it is! See, I _knew_ you had that little question bonking around in that big old head of yours!"

Amethyst couldn't help but laugh.

"It's the strangest thing." As Bismuth went on her voice grew almost somber, "I used to love my forge. Built it myself to keep baddies out! Ain't _nothing_ could get inside without my say-so! But... ever since I got back, it's like the room spins every time I see it, and I get this tightness in my chest." Bismuth grabbed at her gemstone, "It's not just my forge either. I feel it sometimes when I'm in the house too and I just really need to get some air."

Amethyst listened without speaking.

"It always feels like something bad's about to happen, but I dunno what, but I just need to get out of there before it does."

Bismuth raised a hand. "Uh, so. This is gonna sound like a _really_ weird request but... can I pet you?"

Amethyst stared at her and scoffed. "Yeah, you're right. That _is_ weird."

"Might like it." Bismuth suggested.

Amethyst considered, and then slowly inched toward Bismuth.

"There we go..."

Amethyst initially tensed at the cold touch, but quickly leaned into the massaging motions of the surprisingly gentle fingers. She sighed and flopped on her side as Bismuth's petting became more vigorous, running through her hair and down her neck and back and stomach. The quartz's tongue lolled out of her mouth, soaked with drool as the affection made every hair and speck of light in her body relax.

Bismuth laughed. "Guess I was right, huh?" Amethyst rolled onto her back to encourage the petting as Bismuth leaned over her and picked up a grape. "Open."

Amethyst opened her mouth and let Bismuth drop the grape inside, practically purring as the petting resumed. "What is this place anyway?"

"It's a hot spring." Bismuth answered proudly. "Underground lava from my forge heats it up and makes the water warm, so it melts the snow and plants grow around it. Usually there are a few critters, too."

Amethyst stretched out an arm and touched the water, its warmth immediately overwhelming her senses. "Oo. Toasty..."

She stood on all fours and shook her hair out, crawling over to the hot spring and slowly lowering herself inside. Her hair morphed into a boat and she quickly drifted back to the surface sighing.

"Oh, that's nice..."

"Yeah." Bismuth said, "This plae has gotten me through than more than a few tough times. Everything's new, and different from the world I remember. It's nice to know that some places are still untouched. Here, I'm done. You can have the rest."

Bismuth grabbed the bowl and put it on Amethyst's stomach for easy access.

Amethyst took a strawberry. "You know what? You're alright, Bismuth."

"So all it took was a snack and a scratch to win over your favor? Good to know."

"Hey, I ain't that complicated. You feed or pet me once and I'll be stuck to you like stink on ass for at least five thousand years; just ask Pearl."

Bismuth didn't bother to hide her laugh as it echoed down the mountainside. "Believe me, I will. Any chance your friend is this easy?"

"Nope. Spinel is as complicated as they come; but word of the wise, don't give her flowers."

"Why not?"

Amethyst shrugged."Just trust me on it. Spinel has... her own way of doing things."

"Figured as much. Well, ain't nothing I can't fix, and I'm sure she isn't the exception."

"Whatchu gonna try?"

Bismuth shrugged. "I'll figure it out."

* * *

"That is absolutely preposterous!"

"No it isn't!" Spinel shot back.

"Bismuth is our friend!" Pearl shot back, "And I don't appreciate you talking about her like that!"

"She's _your_ friend!"

"And Garnet's, and _Steven's_!"

"She's been training him to fight!"

"Garnet gave her permission!"

"She..." Spinel faltered. "She did?"

"Yes." Garnet appeared at the mention of her name.

"You can't be serious." Spinel breathed out.

"Garnet, thank the stars!" Pearl stepped forward, "Tell Spinel she's crazy, and that Bismuth isn't up to _anything_."

"Spinel." Garnet looked down at her.

"You knew...?" Spinel asked.

"Elaborate."

"You knew Bismuth was training Steven?!"

"Yes."

Steam blew from out of Spinel's ears and a red heat exploded in her face. "You _knew_ and you didn't _tell_ me?!"

"It didn't concern you."

"It involves Steven, of course is concerns me!"

Garnet seized Spinel by her wrists and lifted her into the air. "Calm down."

They all turned to face the warp as it activated and Amethyst stepped off, her hair glistening with ice and snow.

"Dudes." She looked between the three, "What did I miss?"

"Amethyst!" Spinel said, "Tell them how awful Bismuth is!"

"Whaddaya mean? She's amazing!"

Spinel's heart fell. "What?"

"We spent all day talking by a hot spring, soaking it up!"

Pearl looked over smugly at Spinel. "See? At least Amethyst has some sense!"

"What, my opinion only matters when you agree with it?"

Pearl gasped at the accusation.

"_Enough_." Garnet decided, "Amethyst, stay here. Pearl, Spinel, to your rooms. Now."

"What?" Spinel laughed. "You can't _ground_ us!"

"Room _now_."

"But..."

_"Room. Now."_

"Yes Garnet..."

The two obeyed, and Amethyst and Garnet were left alone.

"I don't know if I'm in more trouble or less trouble." Amethyst said.

"That depends entirely on you."

"So, _more_ trouble."

Garnet wasn't amused. "Tell me what happened with Bismuth."

"Like I said, we just chilled by a hot spring."

"While she was supposed to be working."

Amethyst shrugged. "What can I say? We're both slackers."

"You are, Bismuth isn't." She scooped Amethyst into her hands. "Tell me what you know."

"Well, Bismuth and I talked about life... and fears..."

"Go on."

"See, I got real suspicious cause she had this major freakout, but it's fine now cause she was just claustrophobic or some shit."

Garnet's voice softened. "Hm. She's the first gem I've met whose been bubbled for so long."

"What about Spinel?"

Garnet took her time responding. "Spinel was only bubbled for a thousand years, Bismuth's is far more extenstive."

"Yeah, I guess." Amethyst stretched, "How exactly did she get inside that Lion anyway?"

"I was hoping you could shed some light on that."

Amethyst shrugged. "Probably best to just ask her yourself."

"No. Bismuth does things on her own schedule. She'll tell us when she's ready."

* * *

A few days later, Bismuth did tell everyone. About her fears and her fears and her regrets on not telling them sooner, but not about the bubbling. It took a few hours for the gems to move all the stuff from her forge into the Burning Room while she watched, anxious of how they handled her precious armory. Spinel's icy gaze didn't lessen one bit, not even when the gem tried to engage her in conversation.

"I can't thank you all enough for doing this."

Spinel said nothing.

"I mean, you're awful kind to help me with something so minor. You all seem so close."

Spinel said nothing.

"I just hope I can find a place with ya'll is all. I may be big, but I don't need much."

Spinel said nothing.

The burning room was the perfect fit for Bismuth's new forge. Lava for her smelting, places to hang all her armor and weapons, and placements for her anvils. Garnet had moved the bubbled gems from the Burning Room to her own, so Bismuth wouldn't have to look at them and remember the friends she'd lost. All but one; a cream and orange quartz. She said she wanted to keep that one close, and Garnet didn't argue.

Steven was happy. Pearl seemed happy, Amethyst seemed happy, Garnet too. Even if it would take a while, Steven was confident that she would learn to trust and love Bismuth just like he did. His arms ached from helping with the lifting; even though Pearl insisted he didn't need to, he wanted to. He was part of the team and he wanted Bismuth to see that. He wanted them all to see it. He was used to the aching anyway, from the punching and the blocking he was doing at the arena with Bismuth. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays was spent punching and blocking. Tuesdays and Thursdays were spent running; up the bleachers, around the arena, up a rocky hill. Sunday was a break and healing. Steven was almost certain Pearl had helped with the scheduling.

"Steven. Hey, Steven."

Steven blinked open exhausted eyes and rubbed them. "Bismuth?"

Bismuth put her hand to her lips. "Could you help me with something?"

"What is it?" Steven whispered.

Bismuth looked around. "Not here. I don't want the others to know."

Steven felt anxious. His mind raced with memories of Amethyst and possibilities of threat or danger. But Bismuth seemed so genuine, so gentle, and he couldn't sense a single ill thought within her. So he went with her. She took his hand and lead him quietly down the stairs.

"Might wanna get your coat; it's cold where we're going."

"Is it your forge?" Steven predicted.

He was met with another silent shushing from the gem. He grabbed his coat, slipped into his sandals, and followed Bismuth to the warp pad. His prediction had been right, and he was faced with the snowy terrain of the mountain, the snowy path that lead to Bismuth's forge stretching out in front of them through the storm. Bismuth picked him up and used her arms to block him against the biting winds as they began their ascent.

"Bismuth?" Steven asked again, "Can you tell me where we're going now?"

Still no malice, no hate, no darkness he could detect. Only trust, and the smallest twinge of fear.

"There's somethin' I left behind in my forge and I need you to get it for me."

"Why didn't you ask Garnet or Pearl? We were just there today."

"I don't want em knowing about this. It's something we need to keep between just us, okay?"

Steven frowned. "A secret? Is it bad?"

"Not a secret." Bismuth said quickly, "A... _surprise_. I was working on it before, for Rose... but I was thinking I could fix a couple things up and give it to Pearl instead. Just gotta make it a little smaller, you know?"

"You seem nervous." Steven said.

"No, I'm not! I'm just... a little _frazzled_, you know. My forge has some... complicated memories."

When they got to the heat of the forge, Bismuth put Steven down as near the entrance as she dared.

"Now, just go to the far left corner and there will be a latch leading down to a ladder."

"Okay..."

"The ladder with take you down into a small room filled with lava; it shouldn't be too hot, I don't think."

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"It's hard to explain, but you'll know it when you see it." She shoved Steven inside, "Now go!"

Inside the forge was like an oven, the heat melting the snow and making his clothes stick to his body from the moisture. He stripped off his jacket and left it as the heat grew unbearable. It took a while for him to find the hatch, but it was right where Bismuth said it would be. He lifted it up with a great difficulty, the door seeming to fight back as he opened it completely and was faced with the terrifying pit below, like a dark tunnel with lava at the end. He swallowed, wiped his hands off on his shirt, and began the dangerous descent.

The downward climb was suffocating. Steven's chest felt constricted with each shallow breath, each glance at the black around him. The heat faded and then returned just as fast. The tunnel was lit up orange and, finally, it opened up into the promised room with the promised heat. Lava poured down from the walls in magma streams that lead into crevices in the ground, all filtering to circle around a stone center.

Laying there, abandoned on the stone was a black machine with matching straps, a dark brown handle, and a sharp point on one side. Sharper than a knife, sharper than a needle even. Bismuth's tattoo was printed on it in blood red.

"Woah... _cool_!"

Steven ran over and heaved it into his arms, almost falling over at the absurd density of the object.

"Geeze! This thing's heavier than Amethyst!"

He grunted as he carried the device as fats as he could, the thought of just how he was going to get it up running ramped in his mind. He got there, eventually and slipped the oversized straps over his shoulders almost like a backpack. It took all his strength not to fall backward as he pulled himself onto the first steps of the later. Already, his breathing was becoming heavy and strained.

"The first step is always the hardest..." He told himself as he forced himself upward, "The next one will be easier..."

His feet slipped and he hit his head on the metal, his arms giving a dangerous tug as the tool threatened to pull him down again. He took a moment to regain his breath and his strength.

"And if I fall..." He gripped the step again with a sweat-soaked hand, "I'll just try..." He stepped up to the next with a grunt, "Again... and again... and again..."

By the time he reached the top, he was soaked with sweat, but he didn't care. He was there, and he could see Bismuth waiting for him give an encouraging wave. Steven waved back, then pulled the suprise from off his back, holding it out for Bismuth to see.

"That's it!" Her eyes lit up gold, "Wow, you- you actually found it."

"Uh huh..." Steven stumbled the rest of the way over and gave it to Bismuth, relishing in the immediately release. "You didn't tell me how heavy it was."

Bismuth sucked in a breath. "Sorry, Steven. Didn't really think that far ahead; you're small, of course it would be heavier for you." She shifted it into one hand like it was nothing and offered her other hand to Steven.

Her coolness was a blessing as they made their way back down the mountain, the winds chilling Steven's hot skin in a pleasent way. Bismuth's eyes never left her machine.

"I can't thank you enough for getting this for me..."

"Eh..." Steven waved a sore arm, "It was nothing."

"Heh, you sound just like her."

"Like mom?"

Bismuth smiled a sad smile. "You really don't remember, huh? Rose Quartz changed my life. I came to earth thinking this was just another colony. Build another arena for important fighters to fight in. Build another spire for important thinkers to think in. Then I met _her_..." Bismuth's voice went suddenly soft and wispy, "Just another Quartz soldier, made right here in the dirt, but she was different. And she was different because _she_ decided to be. She asked me what _I_ wanted to build. I'd never heard that before. Gems never heard they can be anything except what they are, but Rose opened our eyes..."

"Everyone always tell me how great mom was..." The words flooded out of Steven like rushing water, "I just don't feel like I can ever measure up to her."

Bismuth broke from her trance and laughed. "I can't believe this, that I'm the one giving the pep talk to Rose... I mean, to Rose's... _Rose's_..."

"Son."

"Right. Her son." Bismuth smiled, but it didn't seem as genuine, "You _are_ different. That's what's so exciting. You don't have to be like Rose Quartz. You can be someone even better. You can be _you_. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You'd look pretty good with this on your arm..."

* * *

The Burning Room was just as hot as Steven remembered. Looking up felt surprisingly empty without all the bubbles staring back down at him, and he felt almost exposed in the open space. Surrounded by sharp instruments and armors and weapons. Swords and battle axes and helmets and spears and maces. Hanging above Bismuth's massive, reinforced bed was Rose Quartz's sword shining in all its glory. On one side of the best was the singular, bubbled gem that remained in the room. It looked small and pathetic on its own, but Steven could still hear its last moments ringing.

_It's gonna be okay... it's gonna be okay..._

Bismuth sat her weapon on the bed and grabbed the sword instead.

"It's my finest work..." Bismuth rubbed her finger along the blade. "I designed this sword for a fair fight. It can cut through a gem's physical form in an instant!" The sword whistled sharply through the air. "Destroying the body, but _never_ the gem."

"Cool!"

"But..." Bismuth put the sword away and picked up her weapon and latched it around her forearm. It was a perfect fit. "Homeworld doesn't fight fair. That's why we need a different strategy. This weapon would have been a gamechanger. Homeworld knows how to hit us where it counts, but we can do everything they can do, and better. This is the weapon that would have won the war: The _Breaking Point_."

"Woah..." Steven could feel Bismuth's pride and passion like a furnace burning inside her, "What does it do?"

"Just watch!" Bismuth stepped over to one of the countless, stone dummies arranged, a glistening faux-gem on its chest. "Listen here, you Homeworld upper-crusts! _We are! The Crystal! Gems!"_

Bismuth screamed and slammed the Breaking Point directly into the faux gemstone and into the dummy, shattering it in an instant. The heat faded from Steven's body and he felt the cold rush in, the blood pumping in his ears and his heard beating.

_It's gonna be okay..._

The shattered remains of the dummy seemed to taunt him.

_It's gonna be okay..._

"So?" Bismuth asked, an expectant grin on her face, "What do ya think?"

"You..." His words almost didn't belong to him, "You _shattered_ it."

"That's right! One shot from this baby'll shatter any gem in the galaxy, in the blink of an eye. Even a _diamond_ couldn't withstand it!"

"But... shattering a gem... would that... destroy them forever?"

"Exactly! The Homeworld gems won't be able to retake this planet when they're reduced to _shards_!" She grabbed Steven's arm and readjusted the straps to fit him perfectly. Steven barely felt the weight of it; he hardly felt _anything_ except for pure, unbridled terror. "There! Now you look like you really mean _Bismuth_! That there's a _real_ weapon! Why don't you give it a test run?" She pushed Steven toward another dummy, "This one's got your name on it!"

Steven stared at the statue. It was almost like Amethyst, except bigger. Same muscular build, long hair, wild look.

_It's gonna be okay..._

"Wait, lemme get out of your way. Whoop!" Bismuth stepped quickly out of Steven's path. "There! Now go."

The longer he stared at those cold, lifeless eyes, the longer they didn't seem so cold or lifeless. The more they seemed like Amethyst, the more a scene seemed to play out in his head. Even it wasn't real, maybe there _was_ someone in its likeness. Someone like Amethyst, just following orders like Amethyst, just wanting to play and goof around like Amethyst. He remembered the crack in Amethyst's gemstone, how much it affected her. He imagined what it would have been like if it wasn't just a crack. If she'd...

Steven lowered his arm. "Bismuth... I can't use this..."

"What? Why not?" Before Steven could answer, she went on, " I know it's a bit heavy now, like you said, but I can take some weight off it with a little bit of tweaking. It's just like our training, just one punch and you can put it down and give your arm a rest."

"It's not that..."

"No? Then what?"

"Shattering gems... wouldn't that make us the same as Homeworld?"

Bismuth seemed offended at the accusation and her face lit up with suprise. "Of course not! We'd be shattering them for the sake of _our_ cause, to protect _our_ allies! _Our_ friends! To free all gems from Homeworld's tyranny!"

"Except the ones you _shatter_. The ones fighting for _their_ cause. The ones forced to fight _because_ of the tyranny."

"But..."

"Gems that were like you were, gems that don't know any better. And instead of teaching them, showing them a better way, you'd take away that chance of becoming good like you did."

Bismuth's eyes flashed a deep red.

"It's not what a Crystal Gem would do."

Bismuth approached Steven, all warmth from her lost under a layer of frost. "Don't tell _me_ what a Crystal Gem would do. Nobody's more Crystal Gem than _I_ am. If you won't take it, I'll just use it myself."

She reached out to grab the weapon, but Steven pulled it away.

"_NO_! No one's using it!" He snarled through his teeth, matching Bismuth's anger as he unlatched the Breaking Point from his arm and dropped it. "I'm sorry Bismuth, but it's not right!"

Bismuth's anger immediately shifted to fear, red eyes to white as she stumbled over her own feet. "_That_..."Her voice trailed off.

"Bismuth...?" Steven shook his anger off just as quick. "What'd you say?"

"That's just what _she_ said..."

"What?"

Bismuth looked up. Her eyes were constricted, darting around like a wild animal. "That's just what _you_ said!"

The fear radiated off her like a stormcloud, invading the room as a virus would. She looked to the lava, to the Breaking Point, and something broke inside her. "It's _you_..."

"What do you mean?" Steven's voice echoed, the returning voice not his own but anothers. _Rose_.

"Don't lie to me!" Bismuth snarled. She collapsed and clutched her chest while her gemstone ignited in a rainbow beacon. "You can't expect me to believe you now, after you lied about everything?!"

Her voice wavered between almost inaudible to a violent cry. Beads of tears fell from her eyes, reflecting the scene all around them

"You're lying about this new form, just like you lied to the others about _me_!" She grabbed Steven forcefully by his shirt, "But I didn't just _disappear_, did I? You _know_ what happened to me!"

Steven swung his fists out wildly, the bubble coming around them almost naturally as his left made constant with Bismuth's face and she dropped him, stepping back to rub her cheek.

"I knew it... I _knew_ it..."

"Bismuth, calm down! You're having a panic attack! I'm not mom!"

"_Liar_!"

Steven looked back at his own shadow and saw his mothers form glaring back at him.

"Don't play games with me, Rose! Five thousand years ago I offered you the secret to victory and you _refused_! The Breaking Point would have changed _everything_!" Her hands turned into hammers, "I didn't want to fight you, but you gave me no choice!"

Steven ran as she tried to swing down on him. His feet carried him fast behind one of the dummies before Bismuth could stand to see which one.

"What kind of leader doesn't give her army the best chance to win?!" Her fist came slamming down on one of the other dummies, breaking it in half as white eyes searched the room.

"How could you value the lives of our enemies more than our own...?" Her voice grew softer as she slammed weakly into another dummy, not breaking it but sending it flying off its feet.

_It's gonna be okay..._

"And now..." Despair plagued her voice as her blows became even weaker. "Look what you've done..." Her eyes looked over to the bubbled gem. "Look what you've _done_..."

"Bismuth..."

"You should have shattered me back then..." Bismuth was on her knees hunched over and sobbing, "At least if I was in peices, I wouldn't have to know how little I mattered to you... You didn't even tell em..."

Steven walked over to her; he _couldn't_ just leave her.

"You bubbled me away and didn't ever tell your friends. _My_ friends..."

"Bismuth..." He put a hand on Bismuth's shoulder.

"_AND YOU LOST_!"

She spun around before Steven could move, before the thought even passed in his mind. Then there was only the pain. Aching all over and centering his chest, then shooding to his lower back as he slammed into the dummies and felt a _pop_, heard a _crack_.

When he blinked, the pain was gone as if it had never been there to begin with, but he could feel his body slick with blood. Bismuth over him, the fear still deep in her, but without any of the violence. The fear wasn't inward, but _outward_ for someone else. Fear for _Steven_.

"Please... oh stars,_ please!"_

_It's gonna be okay..._

Steven blinked, and it was like he teleported into Bismuth's arm. Her hand was to his neck, her head to his chest.

"Steven... _Steven_!"

_It's gonna be okay..._

He blinked once more, and then Bismuth was cradling him and crying into his shirt. "_Please... please..._" She rocked back and forth with im in her arms.

"Bismuth..." Steven needed to comfort her. He could feel her tears without seeing them, sense her grief in the same light. He reached up to her, though it took a while to see through the tunneled vison. "Don't worry..."

"Steven?"

"It's gonna be okay..."


	39. The Return

All of Beach City heard it when it happened. They all saw it too. The hand. The green hand breaking through the atmosphere with a roaring thundering, blocking out the sun as it inched ever closer. The moment the mayor laid eyes on it, he knew exactly what it meant.

"Evacuate, evacute."

The whining cry of the mayor's sirens was the finally warning to the people of Beach as they scattered to gather their loved one and as much belongings as they could pack into various vehicles. Many had their noses in their phones, texting up a storm to relatives or Facebook or Twitter, anyone that would listen to the strange events going on. Others, Like Ronaldo Fryman, had their phones to the sky livestreaming the pointing finger as proof.

"Vidalia!" Greg ran up to his old friend in a panic, "Have you seen Steven? The gems can't find him anywhere!"

"Sorry Greg, can't help ya!" Vidalia was fasting to strap Onion into his car seat, her car packed with cats and photo albums and boxes full of clothes. "But if you see Sourcream, tell him to get his ass home!"

Greg drove all over town, asking the scattering townfolks the same questions to get the same answer. No one had seen him, not , not the Fryman's, or the Pizza's. Lars or Sadie, either. The gems were certain he hadn't gone to Connie's, but Greg couldn't help but pray that he was.

"Priyanka-"

"_Greg Universe?_" She shrieked into the phone, "Do you have _any_ idea how early it is?!"

"I'm sorry, but have you seen Steven?"

"_What?_"

"Er well, there's an evacuation going on. Some sort of..." Greg looked up to the blackened sky, "Tsunami on the way..."

"A _tsunami?!_"

"It's not a big one! But... _Rose_... was supposed to be watching Steven but she took her eyes off him for one second and he dissapeared! I thought maybe Connie has seen him."

"He's not here, Greg." Priyanka's voice softened, "But I'm sure you'll find him. Do you have anywhere else you can go after you do?"

"Um... no. My parents... didn't approve of our marriage and they cut off contact. I can't go there. I was just thinking we'd live in my van. Priyanka? You still there?"

"Listen Greg, go find your boy, and bring him, your daughters, and your wife here."

Greg blinked. "Daughters? I mean! Yes, yeah, sorry. Mind's on Steven right now."

"That's understandable. I hope you find him. He's a good boy."

"Yeah, he is. I hope I find him too..."

* * *

Spinel warped back to the Beach house, looking around to see the house empty and quiet. Moments later, the warp activated behind her and Amethyst stepped out.

"They're not at the Sky Arena." Spinel reported.

"Or at the Kindergarten." Amethyst said.

"Why would they be at the Kindergarten?"

"Cause I ran out of places to check!"

Pearl warped in next. "Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm assuming you didn't find him either?"

Spinel shook her head. Pearl sighed and went over to the window, looking out over the ocean. "They'll be here before too long..."

"How many do you think are on there?" Amethyst came up beside Pearl, squishing under her arm and leaning against her side.

"Garnet doesn't even know. We can only assume it's Peridot..."

The warp activated.

"Garnet!" Spinel's expression fell when she saw the gem was alone. "No luck?"

"I got this." She pulled a pink, woolen jacket out from her left gemstone.

"That's Steven's jacket!" Spinel's arms shot forward to snatch it from the leader. She flipped over the collar of the jacket to show the embroidery inside; _Steven Quartz Universe_. "Where'd you find it?"

"Pearl." Garnet said quickly, "We need to talk."

"But Garnet, Peridot-"

"Don't you worry about Peridot, and come with me."

Garnet grabbed Pearl's forearm and dragged her along with her, toward the temple.

Pearl pulled away. "_No_."

Garnet frowned ever so slightly.

Pearl stuttered out a few noises before settling on her words. "Keeping... keeping secrets has done nothing but hurt us. We can't do that anymore Garnet!" She walked back to stand with Spinel and Amethyst. "Not if we want this team to stick together. Whatever you have to say to _me_, say to _them_."

Garnet pursed her lips, but when Pearl didn'y back down she admitted her defeat and said, "I found it in Bismuth's forge."

Spinel's eyes went wide for a moment, but then narrowed quickly as one of them began to twitch.

"Uh oh." Amethyst hopped behind the couch.

"Oh Mother of Pearls, she's going to explode." Pearl ducked behind a counter.

Garnet faces the brewing storm calmly.

"_WHERE_ _IS SHE_?!" Steam shot from out of her ears like a train whistle, her pupils igniting in flame and her face exploding red.

"She wasn't there." Garnet said calmly.

"Well she's _somewhere_!" Spinel breathed smoke out from her nostrils like an angry bull. Her eyes settled on the temple door. "Did anybody bother to check her room?"

"There's no need Spinel." Garnet said.

"There's _every_ need! She has my Stevie, and I'm gonna _end_ her, and you all for trusting her!"

"Spinel, calm down, we don't know what happened..." Pearl tried to plead.

"Hey guys..."

Spinel spun at Bismuth's voice, fists ready to strike, but failing to do so at the last minute.

Um..." Bismuth shifted her grip on Steven, resting limp against her shoulder. "He... he's breathing... I don't know what to do..."

"Bismuth, oh stars..." Pearl rushed over but then slowed quickly, an expression of pure terror spreading through her features to match the one on Bismuth's. "Here... give him here..."

Spinel was frozen. The ringing in her ears silenced everything, the boiling point inside her spilling out into a rage that threatened to take all control.

"What did you do...?" Her voice was quiet, but that only made it more sinister.

"I..." Bismuth's voice was just as low.

"Spinel, don't." Garnet stepped between them.

"What do you mean?!" The pipe burst, "Don't _what_ Garnet!?"

"Look at her." Garnet snarled right back, "She's terrified."

The soft touch of Amethyst seemed to draw Spinel back to reality.

"At least let her explain what happened, Spins..."

Spinel's silence was Bismuth's cue. Pearl put Steven gently on the couch and rushed to take Bismuth's hands in hers. Bismuth seemed miles away.

"I just... it... I don't..."

Bismuth broke down, practically collapsing under her own weight as Pearl worked to keep her upright. Tears followed heavy from white eyes, the entire gray-blue body shaking with grief and regret.

"Oh Bismuth!" Pearl pulled a hankercheif from her gemstone and used it to wipe the heavy tears as they fell.

"I didn't mean... I thought he... I saw..." Bismuth couldn't finish one thought before another tried to force its way out.

Garnet walked past Amethyst and Spinel. Pearl moved away meekly at the leader's approach. Garnet cupped Bismuth's head in her hand and forced the panicked gem to look up at her.

"Bismuth, our weapons."

Bismuth blinked. "Huh? They... they're ready I was... gonna give them to you today."

"Perfect timing. Go."

Bismuth finally stood on her own, stumbling back toward the temple door to do so. Garnet turned to the remaining three.

"Amethyst go get Greg, Pearl check Steven, Spinel." She hesitated, but then said firmly. "Calm down. At least save your anger for what's out there."

"Yes Garnet!"

Amethyst dashed out the door and Pearl dashed to Steven's side. She felt his forehead, and then his neck.

"Bismuth was right, he's still alive..." Her hand traced along his head and came out stained red. "There's blood, but no wound... hmm..." Her eyes narrowed curiously.

"Let's get him cleaned up before Greg comes." Garnet said.

Pearl scooped up Steven and rested the boy against her shoulder as she carried him to the bathroom.

"Spinel." Garnet turned to the last remaining gem.

"_Garnet_." Spinel snarled back.

"I know you're angry, but wait. Steven doesn't need us to be angry right now, he needs us to be safe."

"_He_ needs to be safe! And he's not with that gem around!"

Garnet stood to her full height at the challenge, her shadow falling over the short gem in a menacing display. "He needs us alive. He needs us out there fighting for him and fighting for this planet."

Spinel didn't argue.

"Rose may have trusted you with Steven, but she entrusted _me_ with leading this group. I make the calls and I say Bismuth stays. At least until we find out what happened."

Amethyst was back in a flash. "He's on his way."

"Good. Spinel."

"Yes, oh _great_ and _powerful_ leader?" Spinel gave a bow.

"Watch yourself." Garnet warned. "And pack Steven a bag. You'll find his hamburger backpack under his bed."

"That's about as clean as I'm gonna get him..." Pearl walked out of the bathroom holding Steven, naked apart from the clean towel wrapped around him."

"Wow, P. Giving up so soon?" Amethyst snickered.

"Well in case you haven't noticed, _Amethyst_, we're in mortal peril! And we need to give Steven and Greg a chance to flee."

"Pearl's right." Garnet confirmed. "The humans will need Steven with them if we're not enough to stop whatever's coming."

Pearl scoffed. "You think Steven's going to be able to stop them?!"

"He's his mother's son." Garnet said simply, "And I believe in him."

* * *

"Mm..." The world around Steven was spinning, images rushing past faster than he could comprehend them "Wha...?"

"Steven!"

The voice was all to familiar, and enough to drag Steven to reality. "Dad?"

"Shoot! Just uh, lay down Stew-ball. Everything's gonna be alright."

Steven looked around as his eyes began to focus. "Dad? Where are we? Dad?"

Steven forced himself to sit up, groaning under the sudden, sharp pressure in his head.

"Dad? Where are the gems?" The more Steven looked, the more he recognized where he was. He had spent much of his early life in the van, and it was almost imprinted in his mind. The paintings, the posters, the clutter. "Where are we going?"

There were other cars around in front and behind them, people he recognized from the town. He saw the buildings he knew so well quickly getting smaller and smaller. He tried to look to the sky, to see the moon and figure out what time it was. But he saw no moon despite the darkness, only a vague, dark shadow darkening the sky.

"Dad...? Answer me!"

"We... we're gonna go stay with your friend Connie for a while..."

"Why...?" Steven was quickly growing impatient with the silence. "What's wrong with the Beach House?"

He could feel the fear radiating from the driver's seat, an almost crippling sensation of love and worry and doubt and guilt all swirling around in his dad's head like a hurricane. Steven was silent for the longest time, just processing the emotions before he finally spoke again.

"It's Peridot isn't it?"

Greg's silence was his answer. Steven crawled carefully into the front and latched the seatbelt around himself.

"It is..." Steven confirmed for himself, "I _know_ it is."

"The gems just want you to be safe." Greg said at last.

"I know..." Steven rested his head against the cool glass of the window. "Maybe... maybe when she gets here she'll see how nice all the people are and she won't want to hurt anyone."

Greg smiled. "Just like your mother..."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But these other Gems aren't like your mother." It was clear the older man immediately regretted his words and started to sweat, but the words continued to fall out and dig him further into trouble. "They aren't like Garnet or Amethyst or Pearl or Spinel. They aren't gonna start caring about people now. They didn't the first time they..." Greg fell silent.

"You mean the war...?"

"You know about that?" Greg seemed genuinely suprised, "I mean, it was thousands of years ago! It's-it's not like I was there!"

"I know. But maybe they're different, like mom was."

"Steven..." Greg spoke slowly, "Do you know what happened, and why there was a war...?"

"Do you?"

"That's not the question here."

Steven thought. "Um. I know there was a war, and the gems fought in it."

"Anything else?"

Steven shook his head.

Greg sighed. "The Gems should be telling you all this stuff, not me. But I get it. I mean, they don't want you thinking of them like that!"

"Like what?" Steven was getting tired of all the silence. "Like _what_ dad?"

"Like aliens!" Greg slapped his hand over his mouth and groaned. "Sorry, didn't mean to shout."

It was Steven's turn to be silent.

"Oh, don't be like that, Steven."

Steven stayed silently strong.

"All they do is try to make up for it!" Greg went on, the silence slicing into him almost painfully so that he had no choice, "They just can't forgive themselves, you understand? Look, they were doing something awful to the planet and your mother couldn't stand it anymore. She told me that's why she had to turn on her own kind. She gave up everything just to stop what they started here and drive the invading Gems off of Earth."

Steven couldn't take it anymore. "So she saved the world! That... that's _good_!"

"No such thing as a good war, kiddo. Gems were destroyed, people too... In the end, your mother could only save a handful of her closest friends. If it weren't for her shield, man, I don't know."

The shield. _Mom's_ shield. The one he couldn't summon... Steven lifted up his shirt to look at his stomach and the gemstone embedded there.

"B-but hey, let's look on the bright side!" Greg added quickly, trying to salvage what little he could, "We're gonna drive past that waffle place in a couple miles!"

Steven was quiet.

"Um." Greg searched his mind for the right words to say, "The... the gems put your cheeseburger in the back and left you a note. Thought it was pretty sweet of them..."

Steven was reached back for the pack before he even realized it was doing it. His eyes fell to the yellow sticky note taped to the front, and the perfect writing scrawled out on it.

_We believe in you._

On each of the corners were the signatures of those he held dear, Pearl's small and neat while Amethyst was sloppy and quick. Garnet's was in big and every letter was in capitals, and Spinel's was in bubble letters surrounded by hearts and smiley faces.

"We gotta go back."

"What?"

Steven grabbed Greg by his sleeve. "Turn the van around!"

"No way!" Greg blocked Steven as he tried grabbing for the wheel, "The gems don't want you going back!"

"Please!" Coldness turned to sincerity, disbelief to grief. "I have to go back! I know they're just trying to protect me, but I have to protect _them_! They don't have mom's shield! They need me!"

Greg's eyes swam with beaded tears. "I need you!"

"Please! Dad!"

Greg looked quickly between his son and the road ahead.

"What if they get hurt?" Steven could hardly see, "What if... what if..."

"Steven..."

"They don't have my shield!" It was becoming harder to breath through the tears and the snot and the emotions, "Do you understand?"

"I..." The van started to slow. "I do..." Greg pulled off to the side, waving for the rest of the cars to go on without him. He grabbed Steven and pulled him tight into a hug, burying his face into the boys curls and sobbing into his head. "Just be careful, or I'm gonna run fresh outta family."

Despite the tears in his own eyes, Greg focused on wiping Steven's. He kissed the top of Steven's head.

* * *

"You sure you're up for a fight?" Pearl asked.

"Ain't like I got much of a choice. I ain't running just cause some Homeworld cowards got some _fancy_ tech!"

"But... after Steven..."

"Not now." Garnet corrected before Pearl could say anything more.

The four gems all dawned their new weapons; for Garnet, armored knuckles enhanced her gauntlets and reinforced them with sturdy, powerful weight. Three of Pearl's spears had become tridents, just as light as they were when they were just one point. Amethyst's whip was equipped much the same way, with three flails on the three ends that added an extra weight to her hit. Spinel's hammer looked and felt much the same, but the many new buttons and dials on its handle told otherwise. Bismuth just stuck to her trustworthy hammer-hands.

It was no secret that the somber crept into each of the gems in turn, even as none spoke of the fear bouncing around inside their heads. Pearl was petting Amethyst's head in soothing strokes, Garnet and Bismuth standing strong like statues, and Spinel tense and quiet. The ship was almost upon them now, and it wouldn't be long until they had to face whatever was inside.

"Well..." Spinel swallowed her fear, "Whatever happens, at least Steven's safe..."

"Hey guys!"

The mood shattered immediately.

"_STEVEN_?!"

Spinel put her hand to her forehead and gave a dramatic faint, falling backward into Garnet's arms. She was back up in seconds.

"I came back." Steven smiled. "Dad's parked on the boardwalk."

"Steven!" Amethyst was the first to break the awkward stalemate ran to him, lifting the boy into a suffocating hug and smothering him with kisses.

"What are you doing here?!" Pearl cried, "You need to go!"

"It's too late." Garnet stuck her arm out and motioned for Steven to get behind her as the ship touched down.


	40. I Believe in You

The first gem out of the ship was one they all recognized.

"That's them alright!" She pointed at the group with a scowl, "They're the ones that keep breaking my things!"

There came another. Massive, hulking. A body built for fighting; fiery orange skin streaked with stripes so red they could have easily been blood. Muscles toned her body in all places yet, in terms of form, she was almost like Amethyst, and almost like the dummies Bismuth had shattered. Cold, yellow eyes scanned across the gathered gems, puffing a tuft of cream hair out of her face.

"This is it?"

"Jasper!" Peridot wailed like a child, "They keep interfering with my work!"

Jasper sighed and stepped forward; she was almost twice the size of the already tall Peridot. "Just looks like another waste of my time."

The Crystal Gems as a whole took a step back. Fearful courage, apprehension, and a strange rage brewing from Bismuth. Something hot and bubbling and enough to fog a mind. Her teeth were clenched, her eyes fixed on the massive aggressor.

"It's not a waste! It's your _job_!"

The soldier snarled, flashing predatory teeth as she stomped back into the neon glow of the ship, returning moments later holding a blue gem by her arm. The gem was jostled along as the 'Jasper' stepped forward again.

"Lapis..." Steven whispered.

"This is their base?" Jasper snarled.

Lapis refused to look at her. "Yes."

"You need to leave _immediately_." Garnet commanded calmly.

"Yeah, step off!" Amethyst stuck out her tongue.

"Before we _throw_ you off!" Spinel spat.

"This is not a gem controlled planet."

Jasper and Peridot dragged Lapis out onto the beach, cold gazes of fiery gold and tinted green scanning the gathered gems. Jasper searched more than Peridot did, a predator searching for the weakest prey. Her eyes passed over Steven without giving him a second thought.

"And neither of you saw Rose Quartz?"

Peridot and Lapis remained silent, but it was answer enough.

"Oh, what a shame. I was looking forward to beating her into the ground."

"Oh don't worry. _Someone's_ gonna get beat into the ground today, and it ain't us!" Bismuth cracked her hammers together in a display of strength.

Jasper huffed and grinned. "Cute. And this is all that's left of her army?" The massive gem howled a laughter that echoed throughout the empty town. "Some lost, defective pearl, A bold little bismuth, a puny overcooked runt, and _this_ shameless display?" She looked between each of the gems in turn, going to Spinel last. "And just _what_ is that?"

"The reason you're here!" Peridot whined. "Why Yellow Diamond sent you here!"

"She needed _me_ to take care of _that_?"

"She seemed pretty certain, and I am not one to question the wonderful, luminescent, goddess-incarnate that is Yellow Diamond!" Peridot spoke with such awe in her voice that it was almost cute.

"Suck up." The jasper reached into her gemstone and produced a double-pronged weapon, sparking with yellow electricity at the touch of her hand.

Steven felt apprehension from all angles, and horror from one. He looked to Peridot, her eyes wide and mouth agape, electricity reflecting in her visors and dark memories in her eyes. The tiger-colored gem started to walk calmly toward the much smaller Spinel.

"Stay in formation." Garnet ordered, "Weapons ready."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Jasper grinned and her body ignited yellow as a helmet appeared on her head. "Now. Stand still." She struck out at Spinel.

"Nope." Spinel grabbed between her legs and lifted herself up, out of the way of the blow.

"What?" The nose-gem struck out again at the gems leg.

"Nope." Spinel lifted her leg and balanced on the opposite one. Before Jasper could attack again, she spun around and brought her raised boot slamming hard into the attacking gems back. Jasper went flying her feet and into the sand in the distance. There was left a cloud of dust in her wake. Spinel giggled a girlish giggle. "Let's play!"

"Spinel no!"

Spinel ignored her leaders command as her leg spiraled and launched her forward into an attack.

Garnet swore softly.

"Amethyst stay with Steven. Bismuth, Pearl get Peridot."

Peridot squeaked.

"Go. _Now_.

Garnet dashed after Spinel as the rest of the gems scattered to their designated posts. The different emotions and memories and fears flooding from the fight surrounded him on all sides and drowned out much of his conscious thoughts. Amethyst did her best to keep Steven beside her, but with them being the same size he was easily able to see the scenes play out.

"Stay away from me!" Peridot's voice was little more than a while as she struggled backward, one hand clinging tightly to the captured lapis and the other aimed at the approaching gems. Her magnetic fingers drifted up to fire at Pearl and Bismuth. The two dodged the attack with ease and hardly slowed their approach.

"_Jasper_!"

Steven looked over to the other fight. Jasper was swinging wildly like an animal, Spinel dodging each attempted blow in a variety of different ways; flattening herself, stretching her body to the side like a rubber band, jumping. All while keeping a smug grin on her face.

"_Stop... moving_!" Jasper snarled as she continued her assault.

Garnet was almost upon her at that point and was raising her gauntlets to strike. Jasper spun around and drove her fist hard into Garnet's stomach.

"_Garnet_!"

The leader cracked against the cliff with a sharp, echoing thud that, along with Steven's shout, stopped both Bismuth and Pearl in their tracks. Jasper's mouth curled into a grin and she dove, her hair folding over her form in an instant. As Garnet went to stand, her hands moving to grab Jaspers, another fist was drove into her stomach. Then another, and another, all in quick succession so the gem couldn't strike back.

"Garnet!" Steven tried to run to her, but was cut off by Bismuth.

"No! She's _mine_."

Pearl looked to her side to say something, but Bismuth was already gone.

"Bismuth, _no_!"

"Pearl what do we do?!" Amethyst ran to Pearl's side, clinging to her leg. Nothing from her but fear. Pure, unrelenting fear.

"Hey _gem_-_beak_!" Bismuth slammed her hammer into Jasper's back, but it did little more than antagonize the hulking beast. Jasper turned to face her. Bismuth raised an arm to swing down at her, but Jasper reached into her belt to her charged-up weapon.

"I got it!" Spinel shot by like a rubber bang, grabbing Jasper by the neck and pulling her along for the ride as the two flew straight through the wooden stairs without slowing.

Steven turned back to the ship. Peridot was slowly backing inside, trapping Lapis in one arm and using the other to charge up an attack.

"STEVEN RUN!"

Steven looked to Garnet at her cry, and then back at Peridot just as quickly. Her blaster was aimed directly at Steven, cold eyes calculating as she readied to fire. Lapis saw this, looked between her captor and her friend, and then drove her elbow into Peridot's stomach.

"_OW_!"

Lapis freed herself and tried to wrestle the blaster from Peridot.

The weapon went off anyway, sending a blast beam of light flying right toward him. Lapis was struck hard across the face by Peridot and fell to the sand.

"STEVEN!"

Steven tensed for the blow that never came. When he flicked open his eyes, he found his arm out in front of him in a defensive motion, and around it a half-dome of light. Pink and white and swirling in a spiral of power as the destruction meant for him was dispelled into the surrounding sand. It seemed to come directly from his gemstone. Glowing through his shirt.

The fighting stopped on both ends.

"That shield..." Jasper said quickly.

And it was a shield, Steven could see. Small and strange, yet made of something so familiar he reached out to touch it. He expected his hand to phase right through, but was instead was met with something solid and warm.

Jasper's disbelief turned into a cruel excitement. "You... you have the power of Rose Quartz!"

"Now do you believe I needed an escort?!" Peridot shouted from where she stood with the recaptured Lapis.

"Fire a barrage! Widespread!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Peridot's floating fingers formed a screen. The ship raised into the sky behind them, the pointer finger charged and aiming at the beach.

"Now that's more like it."

Spinel lunged for the Jasper just as the sand around them exploded upward from the blast. Amethyst grabbed a hold of Steven before the chaos could separate them, but Steven lost sight of everyone else.

"Get behind me, dude..." Amethyst pulled Steven behind her as they both squinted their eyes against the sandstorm surrounding them.

Then all at once two figures became apparent, almost tangled into one massive struggling beast as they fell fast through the dust.

"No, _you_ get behind me!" Steven pulled Amethyst behind him and bubbled them both. The chaotic form crashed down on top of them, growling and hissing as the Spinel and Jasper both fought for dominance.

Spinel had her torso wrapped around Jasper's, both arms spiraled around one of Jasper's as they met in a stalemate of strength.

Jasper brought her fist down hard against Spinel's back. "_Get! Off!_"

Her claws dug deep into Spinel's shoulder, but the Crystal Gem didn't loosen her grip in the slightest. She was starting to try and rangle Jasper like an angry bull, wrapping her arm further up the other gems body to grab Jasper by her helmet.

A spear shot through the dust spiraling, but missed its mark as the two wrestled, slamming straight through Spinel's shoulder. There was no blood, but a blinding white light flooded out in its place.

"Pearl!"

The soldier leaped victoriously out from the dust, but her grin quickly faded.

"You hit me!"

Jasper howled and headbutted Spinel, grabbing her by the neck and ripping her off before the pink gem could react. She tossed her at Pearl and then turned to Steven.

"Why do you look like that?"

Steven gulped, and his bubble faded away as fear took hold.

"Why do you look so _weak_...?"

_"Steven, down!"_

Steven ducked as Garnet jumped out of the sand and over him and Amethyst. It was like it happened in slow motion. One minute she was almost on top of Jasper, and the next the two electric prongs were driven deep into her stomach.

"NO!"

Veins of yellow creeped their way up Garnet's body, her form cracking and falling away like dust. Her visors spit in half, and then it was done. The explosion as her body gave way was enough to clear most of the dust, revealing Peridot with her back turned to them. She gasped, spun around, and before Amethyst or Pearl could aim their weapons at her, Peridot shot. A blast shot clean through Pearl's chest, and another pierced through Amethysts shoulder; a second shot to the back poofed her, and her form exploded just as Pearl's had.

Peridot charged up another attack aimed toward Steven.

"No!" Jasper snarled, "She's _mine_!"

"It's not relevant to the mission!"

"Forget the mission!"

Peridot gasped. Steven ran over to the four gemstones and tried to pick them up, but it was him who was lifted harshly off the ground.

"Get back here Rose!"

"Let go of him!" There was a crack as Spinel punched Jasper in the face.

Jasper roared her rage and tightened her grip on the gem-destroying weapon. "You're really getting on my nerves..."

"Jasper, no! We're not supposed to poof that one!"

Jasper turned to look at her. "Then how do we get it on the ship?"

Spinel punched Jasper's chest and send her sliding fast through the sand as she dug her feet in. "You don't, _dumbass_!"

"Like I said, forget the mission." She dashed forward in a flash of yellow bringing her fists to strike at Spinel; the pink gem caught them with ease and stopped the momentum. "You think you're so funny..."

"I think I'm _adorable_." She winked, and giggled.

"Stop laughing!" Jasper raised a fist.

"Jasper no!"

Her fist connected with Spinel's head. The gem shook her head and snarled as Jasper readied another attack.

"She belonged to Pink Diamond!"

Jasper stopped. Her fist was inches from Spinel's face. She slowly looked back at Peridot.

"What did you say...?" She looked to Spinel.

"Hey sugar plum." Spinel seized Jasper by her ears and forced their lips together.

"AGH!" Jasper pulled away, wiping her mouth and staring in astonishment and rage, "WHAT IN DIAMOND'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Just giving some sugar..." Her legs stretched out and she did an elegant flip over Jasper so their backs were together; then she wrapped her arms around Jasper's, lifted her up, and sent her flying. "But you're _nothing_ sweet!"

"Spinel!"

Spinel was too busy to respond. Steven looked down to where the four gemstones lay discared but, when he ran to try and collect them, they were engulfed in a neon light and carried away. They came to drift around Peridot's head as she made marks on her screen and muttered to herself. Steven wailed for Spinel again. He couldn't see Lapis or Bismuth anywhere; on the beach or in the water or the boardwalk.

"One Pearl, one Amethyst..."

Steven covered his ears and ignored her speaking as intrusive thoughts shot through his head like bullets. _Just wrap it up already so we can leave. Steven, down! Gotcha. Get behind me, dude. I can't keep this up much longer. Stay still. I have to stop it._

The last thought brought Steven back to his senses. "Bismuth?" He looked around for the gem.

She was just leaving the house when he saw her, armor on and the Breaking Point strapped to her arm as she charged out.

"Hey shallow-nose! Let's even the playing field!"

When Jasper turned to look at Bismuth, Spinel saw her opportunity and took it. She bended her form over Jasper, grabbing Steven on the way before launching both up to the top of the cliff and collapsing.

"Spinel?" Steven dropped down beside her to shake her, "We have to go back down..."

"You should've... went... away..."

"Are you okay?"

Spinel groaned. "Haven't gone so hard in a while..." She sat, touching her hand to her gemstone; the heart almost seemed to be on fire from within, and just as hot as if it had been.

"B... Bismuth has the Breaking Point..."

"The wha...?" Cartoon birds were circling Spinel's head.

"The Breaking Point!"

"Saying it louder didn't make it any more clear, Steven."

The entire cliffside shook as Jasper crashed into it.

"She's gonna kill her!"

"_Good_." Spinel stood up and looked over the edge. Her eyes snapped to Peridot, Lapis in her grasp and the four gemstones of her friends floating in Peridot's magic. She snarled. "Stay here."

Her arms shot out and grabbed the ship, pulling herself off the cliffs edge and into the ship. Steven never felt so alone as he did then, vitiligo taking over him as he dared to look down at the beach below and the fight.

"Please Bismuth..."

Bismuth was slamming a hammered hand into Jasper as the quartz used her forearms like a shield to block.

"Please be good..."

Jasper found an opening and kicked out to knock Bismuth off her feet and flat on her back.

"BISMUTH!"

Bismuth looked up at Steven, and then kicked out to launch the attacker off of her before Jasper could land in another strike. She flipped, climbed back to her feet, and fell back into a battle stance. Jasper charged, and Bismuth dodged. Her fist struck hard into Jasper's back. The aggressor landed on her stomach with a heavy grunt.

"Please..."

Bismuth threw her body down on top and wrestled Jasper to flip her over on her back.

"You're better than this..."

Bismuth placed her forearm firmly on the struggling soldiers chest like a safety belt at Funland, her knees pinning Jasper's legs.

"You can do the right thing..."

She lowered the metal tip of her weapon to Jasper's gemstone.

_"I believe in you..."_

Bismuth hesitated. Steven breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, his heart swelling at the sight even in the situation it was in. Then it all shattered. The yellow veins creeped across Bismuth as they had to Garnet, her form falling apart like burninh embers until it gave way in a rainbow explosion.

Jasper stood up and dusted herself off, leaning down to pick up the discarded weapon and gemstone as she hummed. "Good fighter. _What a shame._"

"Bismuth..."

"_Rose..."_

Steven squeaked and fell over as Jasper jumped up to the cliff as if it was nothing, towering over him like mountain and covering him with her shadow.

"Something's not right with you... you're not pink, you're not big..." She grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him in a violent rage, "You're not fighting back. But that was your shield." Her eyes glanced down to Steven's stomach. "And that's your gemstone..."

"Jasper!"

Jasper and Steven both looked to Peridot's cry as the near-sobbing gem fled the pursuing Spinel in terror; she wasn't hurt, but stank of fear and panic. Jasper tightened her grip as she jumped down to the beach. Her claws dug into Steven's stomach around his gemstone, ripping into the flesh.

"Stop."

Spinel looked to Jasper, ready to spit a snarky response, but it fell to dust before it passed her lips.

"One more move and I shatter her."

"P... please... he's just a human..."

"No." Jasper growled. "Turn around."

Spinel turned around.

"Walk into the ship. _Slowly_."

Spinel started walking as Jasper instructed, the fear inside her rising to match the fading sense in the peridot that pursued her.

"Put her in the cell; I'll handle this one."

Peridot looked to Jasper. "We're taking the Steven with us?"

"_Now_." Her eyes darted around, "Where's the Lapis?"

"Already on the ship."

"Then get a move on."

Peridot scampered off to the ship, pushing Spinel along with her.

"W... what are you gonna do with me...?"

Jasper huffed. "It's not up to me. If it was, you'd be shattered by now."

"Then who is it up to...?

Jasper didn't respond.

* * *

The cell was cold and awfully lonely. Steven had pulled his knees up to his chest and into his shirt to try and keep himself from shivering, but he didn't work. The corner he was in was as far away from the wall of yellow light as he could get; the magic pulsating from it was enough to keep him wary and away. Jasper had tossed him in without a word and left him to his thought, which were nothing pleasant.

Garnet. Pearl and Amethyst. Bismuth. Spinel. But at least it felt like they were leaving earth. At least his dad and Connie and his friends were safe, and at least Desert was still safe inside the temple. They couldn't access it if they tried; not unless Garnet gave them the power. Garnet, exploding. Spitting in two...

Steven groaned and clutched his head. This wasn't right. Things were supposed to be better. They were supposed to make friends and be friends, and mak3e everyone happy. How could they do that trapped here? He couldn't see them in any of the countless empty cells. Amethyst had to have reformed by then, but not Pearl. Bismuth and Garnet... Steven didn't know. He'd never seen them poofed...

Steven stood up. He didn't know where his body was taking him, but he didn't deny it. It carried him over to the barrier and made him strip off his shirt and hold it out. He watched as it passed through the rift without issue. Even as his gemstone screamed at him to stop, he reached out to touch it and his hand fell through it with a tingling sensation, as if he had just bumped his elbow. But there came no pain.

"Ooo... tingly..."

He reached the rest of his arm through it, then a leg, then his body. When it passed over his stomach, there came a sudden pain that made him keel over in the hallway clutching his gemstone. But the pain passed just as quick, and he was out. Now he just needed to find everyone else...

He tried to keep his footsteps quiet, but it was hard to keep the echo from bouncing off of the hard, industrial hall. It seemed to go on forever in cold, winding loop. Almost endless, it seemed, and empty. Very empty. Until it wasn't.

The first thing he felt was the air shifting gradually into an unnatural heat. The next thing was the sobbing, echoing just as his steps were, and the emotions followed soon after. Painful grief with a scorching rage, masked only by an intense loneliness that made tears come to his eyes. He grabbed at his stomach as it felt like as piece of him was ripped out and lost in infinite space.

He approached the cell where the life force was centered, and there sitting in the corner was a small and stock red gem, a maroon and brown suit with boots and a matching headband holding back reddish-brown curls. Her back was to him, and she didn't even seem to notice him until he called out to her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The gem gasped and spun around quickly, pressing her back to the wall as her chest heaved with panic. Her eyes scanned everywhere, even passing over Steven a few times before she seemed to notice him and squinted her eyes. Then she closed them fully and growled.

"Great! This is just _perfect_!" She kicked the wall hard and yelped, bringing her injuried foot into her hands and bouncing around on her stable one.

"Uh. Do you need any help?"

"No!" She immediately regretted her words and suttered out new ones, "I mean! Don't look at me!" She turned away again and curled up on the floor, "_Just... go away..._"

Steven slowly began to walk away.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned back around. The gem was standing right behind the field looking at him.

"You're out!" She laughed, "H... how did you get past the field?"

"Oh, I just kinda..." Steven reached toward the yellow field.

Panic and a rush of motherly instinct flooded into the gem. "Wait! No no no no no no _wait_!"

Steven's hand passed through, and panic turned to surprise.

"It's okay...?" She reached a pudgy hand forward to touch the field, immediately recoiling with a loud scream and pulling her glowing hand back to her body. Pain quickly faded to supicion as she narrowed her eyes. "What's going on here...?"

Steven didn't know how to answer and he didn't have to, because in that very moment, down through the halls, came a haunting song. A gentle voice carried like a whistle wind, slicing through him with a rush of cold air that sent a shiver down his spine.

_"Ah ah ah ah ah~ ah ah ah ah ah~"_

"Someone's singing..." Steven said quietly.

The strangers eyes lit up like fireworks. "_Sapphire_." Panic returned to her once more, "Please- _please_ let me out of here! Please! I need to find Sapphire!"

"Is she your friend?" Steven asked politely. "I'm trying to find my friends too!"

"Please!" The red gem was near-crying, pulling at her hair with each shuttering gasp. "She's all alone... I need to find her!"

"Don't worry! We'll find my friends and yours!" She stuck his arm out, intercepting the field's stream to make an exit. "And we'll do it _together_!"

The other gem didn't seem as eager as Steven was to make friends. The moment there was an opening, she sprinted out and nearly lost her footing as she ran down the hall faster than Steven ever could. He was quick to pursue her.

"Hey, wait for me!"

When he caught up, she was standing in the middle of two paths, looking desperately between the both of them as the song faded away.

"Hey, my name's Steven by the way." He panted out. "What's yours?"

"_Quiet_!" The gem grabbed her hair and shook her head, "Ugh! I can't _see_!"

"Can't see what?" Steven asked.

She looked between both of the halls until the singing started up again.

_"Ah ah ah ah ah~ ah ah ah ah ah~"_

"Sapphire... this way!" She lead the way down the left hall with Steen staying as close as he could manage.

"How many other gems are trapped here?"

"Don't know. Don't care." The red gem stopped running when the song stopped once more. "She stopped singing... _SAPPHIRE_!"

The pair kept running, and found themselves in a deadend faced with nothing but another cell. For a fraction of a second, the red gem smiled and almost sprinted to it.

She stopped suddenly in her tracks. "Oh. It's you."

"Lapis!"

The cell was much smaller than the other ones and Lapis was barely able to fit without touching the rift seperating them. She didn't react to their prescence; not by looking up or speaking or even moving.

"Lapis..." Steven approached her slowly as the other gem began to pace, "I can get you out..." He reached for the forcefield.

"Don't." She looked up at him and kept a still expression, "Where's your shirt...?"

"Doesn't matter! I can get you out!"

"I said no!"

"Don't worry, it's fine..."

"No it's not..." She looked away again, "I don't want your help. Things are bad enough as it is."

"Lapis..."

"I've already caused you enough trouble. Once we get back to Homeworld, they're going to decide what to do with us."

The red gem screamed. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" And she ran away.

"Wait!" She didn't stop, so Steven turned back to Lapis.

"Steven, whatever you're doing... just stop." Lapis sighed and fixed her eyes on the ground. "If we do everything they say, they might go easy on us."

"But... but they're _mean_!" Steven whined. "They hurt my friends, they hurt my home! And they have you here in prison!"

"Exactly! That's why we can't fight them."

"That's why we _have_ to fight them." The singing started again, and Steven looked down the hall. "I'll come back for you."

His pursuit of the song lead him to a door, he heard the sound of footsteps and an approaching argument. He ducked out of sight just as they came into his.

"We can't leave yet!" Peridot was pleading, The whole point of coming to earth was to check on the Cluster!"

Jasper pounded her fist against the wall beside a cell Steven couldn't see. "Stop singing!" Then she turned to Peridot, "Rose Quartz takes priority. Get back to the bridge and set a course for Homeworld." She stomped away without another word.

Peridot grumbled and muttered under her breath. "Go to earth, they said. It will be easy, they said..." Before stalking off in the opposite direction of Jasper.

Steven looked to the cell and saw a gem there; blue, with a long blue-and-cyan dress and soft, baby-blue locks almost like a cloud. Long white gloves were on each of her hands as well as on shoulder pads. She peered in both directions, one after the other, before sitting back and pressing her hands together as she started to sing again with a vague hope radiating off of her.

Steven shivered as the song passed through him with a slicing chill. He ran quickly over to the cell, but the blue gem didn't react to him until he spoke.

"Hi, I like your song!"

She stopped singing and stared at him. It took her a moment of hesitance to respond.

"Are you Sapphire?

"You escaped..."

Steven reached through the field.

"Of course."

Steven stuck out his arm just as he had done for the other gem. "Come on, it's safe!"

The gem hoisted up her dress and passed under the opening. "Thank you Steven."

"You're welcome!"

"You lost your shirt."

"Uh. Yeah. Hey, how'd you know my name?"

There came a distant shout. "SAPPHIRE!"

"Come on."

Sapphire took Steven by the hand and dashed off at an incredulous speed, dragging Steven along with her. The world flew past them faster than Steven could truly see before they came to a sudden stop in a doorway. On the opposite side of the room, peering down into another hall, was the rest gem Steven freed. She jolted up at the sudden prescience and looked at them, her eyes wide though she didn't move.

"Ruby!"

That broke the Ruby from her statue spell. As she ran, so did Sapphire, and they both met each other in the middle in a hug. Once the hug was over, Ruby grabbed Sapphire's head in her hands to look where her eyes should have been, obscured by hair.

"Did they hurt you?" Ruby asked, looking over the blue gems face.

"No, no. I'm okay." Sapphire put a hand to Ruby's cheek. "Did they hurt you?"

Ruby started tearing up as her smile grew wider. "Who cares?"

"I do!"

Sapphire kissed the red gems tears away, which Ruby reacted to by laughing and picking Sapphire up to spin her around. Sapphire started to laugh with an equal joy as their forms began to fuse into one, giant form and come crashing down laughing with a big, dumb smile on her face.

"_Steven!_ Thank you!"

Steven blinked blankly. "You're welcome Garnet."

"You don't seem surprised." Garnet's voice was filled with emotion, sounding so strange coming from her as she hugged herself and almost cried from the joy of being refound.

"Well, you have two gemstones."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Aw. I'm sorry. We didn't want you meeting us here like this." She looked down at her hands.

"Well... did I make a good first impression?"

Garnet laughed. "Oh Steven." She put a hand to his cheek, "We already love you..."

There came a primal scream in the distance followed by words Steven could hear. He hugged Garnet's leg for protection.

"It's Jasper." Garnet said, "Steven, find the others and get them to the control bridge."

"But I don't know where they are!"

She cupped Steven's chin in her hands and kissed his forehead. Steven mind sparked with all the knowledge he needed.

_"Future vision..."_

"Go now." Garnet pushed him toward the exit.

"Are you gonna be able to defeat her alone?"

"Don't worry, Steven." Garnet readjusted her visor. "I'm _never_ alone."

* * *

"Ugh! Great! You're _both_ out?" Jasper looked over Garnet with disgust. "And you're fused again? Why? Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems stronger. Quit embarrassing yourselves! I've seen what you _really_ are.

Garnet grinned. "No you haven't."

* * *

"Pearl!"

"Steven?!" Pearl gazed at Steven with disbelieving eyes. "How'd you get out?!"

"No time!" Steven made an exit and motioned Pearl through, "We gotta go find everyone else! Garnet's fighting Jasper!"

Pearl ducked under. "She fighting her alone?"

"Garnet's never alone!" Steven pressed his hands together, "She's a fusion!"

Pearl's eyes went even wider. "You met Ruby and Sapphire?"

"Yeah they were really nice." Steven grabbed Pearls arm and started to run, "Come on!"

* * *

Steven and Pearl ran right past the cell at first, but then backpedaled.

"Bismuth!" Pearl cried.

Bismuth was backed into a corner, eyes white and chest heaving with each quick breath she sucked in. Her outfit had changed into a backless and strapless black top with a cutout on her chest to allow her gemstone to breath. Beneath it, a long red apron with a belt holding it up, maroon pants, and black boots. Steven made an exit.

"Bismuth..." Pearl said softly, reaching a hesitant hand through. "It's okay... it's me. It's Pearl."

Bismuth blinked and her eyes focused. "_Pearl_...?" The moment she saw the opening she ran for it, shrinking her form to fit and popping back to her real size the moment she was out. Her breathing started to slow.

"She poofed me." Bismuth said finally, "She- she _poofed_ me!" Bismuth spun around quickly, "Where are we? The other-"

"Garnet's fighting Jasper, Pearl's right here, let's go find the rest!"

Steven sprinted off down the hall clinging to the last remanence of his visons.

* * *

"Dudes!" Amethyst spotted them before they spotted her, "Lemme out!"

Steven let her out and Amethyst ran immediately to Pearl, hugging the taller gems legs as Pearl returned the hug with much more awkward motions.

"You okay, P? Biz? Steve?"

"Okay, you guys go find the bridge thingie and I'll go find Spinel!"

"The what?"

"The bridge thingie! Just figure it out!" Steven ran off.

* * *

"Spinel?" Steven looked in every cell he passed without luck, "Spinel!"

"Steven?" The squeaky voice finally responded.

"Spinel!" Steven followed the voice.

"I'm over here!" Spinel called, and Steven followed, "Are the others okay?"

"Yeah they're fine!" Steven paused, and turned down an opposite hallway. "Are you?"

"Yeah. But uh. I think I'm in the _wrong_ type of cell."

Steven turned around the corner and finally found her.

Her room was far larger than the other cells, with white, padded walls and floors. Spinel was sitting in the middle of it, wrapped in a white garment with long sleeves tied behind her back to keep her arms contained. The rest of her body was tied up and fastened with tight belts. Her ragged pigtails had turned to shiny, bouncy buns looking almost like Mickey Mouse ears.

"I don't know who they think they are, but they have no right!"

Steven couldn't help but snicker as he passed through the field. "Spinel, you look funny."

Spinel started thrashing around. "They think they're _so_ clever!" She fell over with a soft thud.

Steven only laughed harder.

"Just get me outta here..."

It took a while for him to figure out how to unfasten all the belts, and just when he was almost finished there came a powerful crash from somewhere in the ship.

Steven stopped his untangling. "What was that?"

"Who cares? Get me out of here!"

Steven unlatched the finally belt and spinel broke free, flexing her limbs and then almost falling as another shockwave came. Her outfit had changed into a rainbow jester, with oversized pink boots and loose-fitting pants and sleeves. Spinel scooped Steven up in her arms.

"We're gonna crash, aren't we?" Steven asked.

"Yup." Spinel didn't hesitate. "It was nice knowin' ya."

* * *

Jasper busted out of the rubble and let her anger flow out in a loud scream that carried on for miles. She grabbed a piece of the broken ship and crumbled it in her hand, looking to the sky to see a small fireball shooting away from there. Dumb, cowardly Peridot. The fusion wasn't far from her, already out and pulling the runty Quartz from the rubble. The pearl was trapped under some of the rubble, and Jasper couldn't help but laugh as she watched the pathetic thing squirm. It was such a shame when the builder came and lifted her free. But where was...

_Rose_.

There, hiding in her bubble with that little monster of hers. As disgusting as that thing was, it did put up an excellent fight. The thought of sparring with it again was enough to bring a smile to Jasper's face.

"Don't think you've won."

The fusion turned around to face her.

"You only beat me because you're a fusion. If I had someone to fuse with... huh?"

The rubble shifted beside her and bore a gift from the universe in the form of the Lapis Lazuli trying to escape. Jasper caught her by the leg, digging in her claws and holding the prisoner down with ease.

"Come here, brat." She tossed the Lapis to the ground and stepped on her chest. "Don't fly off so soon."

"Lapis!" The rebel Rose called out.

Jasper picked Lapis back up to her feet. "Lapis, listen. Fuse with me!"

The blue gems eyes went wide. "What?"

"How long did they keep you trapped here in this miserable hunk of rock?" Jasper tried to brush bits of rubble off of Lapis' face, but was met with resistance. "These gems, they're traitors to their Homeworld! They kept you prisoner! They _used_ you. This is your chance to take revenge! Just a simple yes or no..."

"Lapis, don't do it!"

Lapis pondered for a moment, then turned to offer her hand.

"_NO_!"

Jasper accepted the hand and pulled Lapis' back against her. Something so fragile, so breakable. She had to be careful. She spun the Lapis around while the gem submitted to Jasper's will, catching her in a dip and leaning over her. Their gemstones glowed in unison, and then they were one.

* * *

The monster raised into a massive, hulking form of green with a mess of white hair. Four eyes circled, and then focused down on the gathered gems with an evil grin. She tried to stand, only to fall down with a earth-shaking crash on four of her two arms. Her laughter seemed to echo on its own, like a voice doubled over but oh so similar to Jasper. She raised a hand toward the ocean and summoned a powerful hand made of water as she raised to her full height. She was almost pretty, if viewed from the waist up.

Then the hand came slamming down on her and grabbed her arm. The fusion looked at the water as if it had a mind of its own while it tightened and pulled until it shifted into a chain holding her.

"Huh?"

Another hand snaked around, completely unnoticed by her until it latched onto her other arm and became another chain.

"_What?!_"

A wave crashed down on her back, latching a cross of chains around her chest and forcing her backward. She tried to fight against them, only to be tugged harder and tighter as the water sunk into her gemflesh. Her other four hands dug helplessly into the sand to try and find a hold.

"What are you doing?!" Her top eyes shrank to let the bottom set grow. "I'm done being _everyone's _prisoner! Now you're _my_ prisoner!"

Two more hands stretched from the ocean and grabbed her back set of hand-legs, making the monster fall face-face into the sand as she wailed her distress.

"AND I'M NEVER LETTING YOU GO."

She was dragged helplessly backward, the water rising and lapping at her as she was pulled agonizingly slow into the dark and cold torrents.

"LET'S STAY ON THIS MISERABLE PLANET _TOGETHER_."

**Hello all! I'm glad you've been enjoying my story thus far, but due to current events happening in the world, I will be taking a short metal health hiatus. Once I resume, I will be posting on a bi-weekly basis instead of a weekly one to give myself more time for planning and perfecting the chapters. Please, be safe and healthy. I know the world's in a scary place right now, but let's hope for the best and try to get through this troubling time together. Remember:**

**I believe in you 3 **


	41. Full Disclosure

"Well that could've gone a lot worse..." Pearl offered.

"Could've gone a lot _better_ too."

"Well, yeah..." Pearl admitted, "But at least we won!"

Steven looked around at the debris littering the beach. Pieces of ship dug into the sand and into the cliffside and atop the house; the roof had begun to cave in, but not enough to fully collapse, even if it was near the breaking point.

"If you can call this a victory." Garnet added with a hint of spite in her voice.

"Well we're alive!" Bismuth gave a proud laugh, "So I'd call it a victory!"

"Where's Peridot?" Steven looked around the rubble, expecting the triangular green head to poke up at any moment. Spinel moved close to him to put her hands on his shoulders and join in the search.

Garnet looked to the sky. "She's gone. I saw her escape pod hurdling toward earth. That's why we fell."

"Oh thank the Stars." Pearl breathed a sigh, "I thought I did something wrong with the control panel! It's a lot different than..."

"I know." Was all Garnet said.

Amethyst finally bursted. "WE WON!"

Spinel whistled her agreement and joined the purple gem in hyer joy.

"Amethyst, settle down!"

_"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!"_

"_Amethyst_!" Pearl groaned and looked to the rest of her team. "Jasper's... under control. But that still leaves Peridot..."

Steven started to play with his hands as he looked to Garnet. "Any idea where she went?"

Garnet sighed. "We'll figure it out."

The sound of an approaching engine put a halt to the cheering and conversation.

"Dad!"

"Steven!" Greg jumped out of the van just as it stopped moving and ran the rest of the way across the loose sand, almost falling, to scoop Steven up into his arms.

"Dad's back, dad's back!"

Greg wrapped his arms around Steven and hugged him tightly.

"Hello Greg..." Pearl said simply with the slightest edge in her voice.

"You shouldn't be here." Garnet growled.

"I... I saw the spaceship start to leave, then it crashed and I saw what happened. But you're okay! Guess those jerks were no match for the _Crystal Gems!_"

"No way! They were _super_ strong!"

Greg's smile began to waver. "But... you were able to fight them back?"

"Nope! This warrior Jasper was _super_ beefy and tough!"

Greg's smile was gone.

"Then they abducted me onto the ship..."

His father's eyes widened.

"...because they wanted to take me away _forever_!"

Greg's mouth fell open.

"And then when we crashed in the ship I almost _died_!"

"What did they want with you?!" Greg's voice was raised with the concerned etched equally into his face.

"They think I'm mom."

"Oh..." Greg cupped Steven's head in his hands and looked him over closely. "Are more Homeworld gems gonna come after you?"

"I uh... I don't know. Maybe? Are you crying?"

Greg was clearly distraught, his lip quivering, tears brewing in his eyes despite his best attempts to blink them away. His hands slipped down to Steven's shoulders.

"Steven, I'm supportive and _very_ proud of you." When he spoke, it was quick and laced with an approaching panic. "And I'll be right back!"

Greg darted off before Steven could get another word in.

"Geeze." Spinel appeared beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's his problem? Steven?"

Steven didn't answer. He was too busy staring at the van he father had sought shelter within.

"Come on Steven." Pearl came up on his other side, "Let's start cleaning this up."

"And I'll go tell the people of Beach City it's safe to come home."

"I'll get a head start on fixing the _'house'_!" Bismuth offered.

"And I'm gonna go nap!" Amethyst was gone in a flash.

"We should probably quarantine the beach for the time being." Pearl said to Garnet as she walked over to join her leader.

"I'll let Mayor Dewey know." Garnet said.

"So house or fences first?"

"Fences. Then house."

"You got it!" Bismuth heaved up a piece of debris and tossed it to the side, marking a spot in the sand with her foot. "Let's get down to _Bismuth_!"

All the conversation seemed distant Steven, nothing more than an absent ringing in his ears as his gaze remained fixed on his father's van.

* * *

It didn't take long for the citizens of Beach City to settle back into their usual routine. All it took was a simple announcement from the mayor for things to return to normal. The Fryman's opened their shop, and so did the Pizza's. Sadie and Lars took a day off and then went back to work. Steven was busy with work of a different kind: trying to figure out what to tell Connie.

She had already tried calling many times, and Steven let it go to voicemail every time. He could justify it, he knew, by saying he was too busy cleaning, which he was! Cleaning the beach and thinking, mulling over his options. He could always tell her the truth... but then he would remember how his dad reacted. The panic, the horror, the worry. He could lie, but he wasn't very good at it. Connie would see right through him. And how could he come up with a lie good enough if he were to try? He could just deny it every happening... but that wouldn't work either.

He tried to pry a piece of rubble from the sand, but found it too heavy to lift.

"Oh, I've got it, Steven." Pearl lifted the green metal out with ease. "Maybe you should gather some of the smaller pieces."

Steven pouted. "Okay."

His eyes drifted over to Desert. The green and red gem had joined the cleaning effort in her own way, by picking up the sand and shaking loose any metal pieces that might've otherwise gone unnoticed. Whenever she'd shake a piece loose, Amethyst could gather it up and put it in a bucket for collection. It didn't take long for the framework of the fence to take form, though it might have been quicker if the builder didn't have to wait for the other gems to clear her way. Pearl picked up most of the discarded pieces and placed them in a neat pile, and whatever she couldn't pick up, Garnet would. Steven himself wasn't doing much of anything.

Steven spotted a smaller piece of metal closer to the boardwalk and quickly made to gather it. The large debris fell to pieces in his hand.

"Great." He kneeled to gather it.

"Hey Steven!"

Steven looked up. "Oh hey!" He took a moment staring at the teen with narrowed eyes before giving a hesitant, "_Kiki_...?"

"Jenny."

"_Jenny_! I knew that!"

"Oh, here, let me help!" Jenny crouched down and began to pick the pieces from the sand.

"Uh actually, you're not supposed to be here..." Steven said.

"_Pfft_. Free country, isn't it?"

"Yeah but... the gems and Mayor Dewey..."

"What's Dewey gonna do about it? Absolutely _nothin'_! Here ya go!" She gave Steven the rest of the fractures.

"Thanks. Um. How'd you get past Bismuth?"

"Is that what that rainbow-haired metal fella is named? He seems cool."

"_She_."

"She seems cool. She staying long?"

"Yeah. For a while at least."

Jenny nodded. "Cool, cool. Well anyways, Buck and Sourcream and I was gonna go on a drive and figured we'd ask if you wanna come with. Ya know, since you've been working so hard."

"I'd love to! But... I have to clean up..."

"Aren't they enough?" She motioned to the working gems. "I mean, you're just a kid."

"I guess... all I'm doing is picking up bits..."

"Then go ask 'em! Sure they won't mind!"

"Erm..." Steven looked over at the gems hard at work, lifting and sifting and piling. "I think I should stay and work..."

Jenny scoffed. "Sure, work is great. But you know what's better than work?"

"What?"

"Having the day off! You've been working nonstop! You deserve a break! Even I get two days off a week, and I'm _paid_ for it."

"I don't get paid for this... but it's my duty. I'm a Crystal Gem."

"Does being a Crystal Gem mean you can't have fun?"

Steven was quiet.

"Listen dude, you're gonna get a god complex or something working this hard all the time. You won't even remember all this work when it's all said and done. But you know what you _will_ remember? That one time you took a break and skipped work to hang out with your friends! You have all your life to work, but you're only young and dumb for a little while! Come on Steven! Please?" Jenny batted her eyes.

Steven blushed "I guess one day couldn't hurt..."

It didn't take nearly as long as Steven had expected to convince them. Spinel and Amethyst both believed he deserved the break (both had even tried to sneak away to join him before Garnet called them back). All it took to convince Garnet was to do his famous puppy eyes, and Pearl was outvoted. Then Steven was off.

He was in the back with Jenny, Sourcream as the passenger, and Buck Dewey at the wheel. The pizza truck couldn't go that fast, and Steven was almost sure he could walk faster, but he didn't care. It was a distraction. When his phone started to vibrate, he looked down at the caller and just watched it ring. Connie's name seemed to dance around the screen and in his minds eye, as beautiful as the day they met. His finger hovered over the accept option for a fraction of a moment before shifting over to decline.

"Girl troubles?"

Steven nearly leaped out of his skin. "Um. Kinda."

Jenny laughed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Something you did or something she did?"

"Something I did..."

Jenny put a hand on his shoulder and fixed with gentle, comforting eyes. "Well I'm sure it'll work out! Every relationship has it's struggles."

"Yeah." Buck Dewey piped up, "I'm sure this girl will come around."

"Maybe..." Steven smiled as color rushed into his cheeks, "I hope so, I really like her."

"I'm sure she likes you too." Buck Dewey comforted.

"No one could _not_ like you, Steven." Jenny moved over to wrap her arm around Steven in a hug.

"Yeah." Sourcream said, "You're like, totally huggable."

"And totally _beatable_..." Steven pouted. "Those bad gems came and I couldn't stop them."

"You're just a kid, Steven."

"Yeah."

"Like, you won in the end though! That's all that matters!"

"And no one was hurt!"

_Let's stay on this miserable planet together!_

"Yeah. _No one_."

"If ya wanna talk about it, we're all ears!" Jenny offered.

Steven considered, then shook his head. "No. It's too soon."

"That's just fine little man." Jenny gave him a comforting squeeze.

"Well, least we can do is listen to some tunes!" Sourcream reached for the radio control.

"Actually, that old thing stopped working weeks ago." Jenny said, "Been planning on getting it fixed."

"Boo." Sourcream didn't seem all that sad about it.

A moment passed in silence.

"Hey Steven, aren't you an your dad like, a super cool singing duo or something?" Buck Dewey asked

Steven smiled widely. "Yeah!"

"You should sing us a song!" Jenny urged.

"Yeah!" Buck Dewey agreed.

"Totally!"

"I dunno..." Steven gave a shy smile.

"Come on Steven." Jenny urged pleasently. "Please?"

The two older boys chanted their praise as well.

"Well... I do have _one_ song I've been working on..."

"Great!"

"Let's hear it!"

Buck Dewey shushed his friends. Steven sighed, took a deep breath, and started to sing.

_"Everybody told me gems stuff dangerous, I guess I didn't believe it until now. Dad always seemed apprehensive, and now he's really freaking out. What do I do...?"_

Steven saw Connie caught up in the fight, ripped apart by Jasper or blasted by Peridot, or crushed by falling debris.

_"I don't want that for you. Everybody tells me life is precious on the planet earth and that means you. When I have to protect you, what if somehow you get hurt? What do I do? I don't want that for you."_

Connie having to watch the gems poof or crack. Connie getting broken by Bismuth, but unlike Steven unable to heal. Connie getting dragged into the ocean by a monster.

_"What am I going to tell you? You're better off not knowing the trouble I'm in. I don't want you to worry about what I've just seen, about where I've just been. You don't have to be a part of this, I don't think I want you to be. You don't need _this..."

Connie getting torn to shreds by a corrupted gem. Connie getting taken into space never to be seen again.

_"You don't need _me_..."_

Connie getting hurt because of him.

Buck Dewey whistled. "_Wow_."

"That..." Jenny's quiet voice turned loud in an instant, "WAS _AWESOME_!"

"You got some sick beats, kid."

Steven couldn't help but blush. "Thanks. It's still a work in progress..."

"We'll that work is _definitely_ gonna progress." Buck Dewey said, "You should like, make a mix tape sometime."

"My dad has CD's of his old songs."

"Steven, if you ever make any CD's, I wanna be the first to buy!" Jenny said.

"I'll be the second." Sourcream said, "Second is great!"

"Guess that makes me the third."

Steven's cheeks hurt from how wide his smile grew. "That really means a lot."

"If you ever need some pointers or equipment, feel free to swing by my place." Sourcream said.

"Yeah! And if you ever need any backup singers or beta listeners, I'd love to help! Sure Kiki would, too."

"I could give you a loan, or pull some strings with my dad to get you your own studio or something."

"Really?" Steven joy faded to disbelief, "You would do that for me...?"

"Sure we would!" Jenny said.

"You got a bright future ahead of ya, Steven." Buck Dewey said.

Sourcream was silent.

"SQ?" Jenny asked, "Aren't you gonna praise Steven?"

Sourcream pointed to the field beyond the moving car. "Look at that!"

Buck Dewey slowed the car as they approached the alien, green glow.

"_Glowing_." Sourcream pointed to the field, "We gotta check it out!"

"I'm down." Jenny said.

"Alright, hold on." Buck reversed back to the glow and stopped the car. "Everyone out."

All four teens climbed out of the car and crept into the otherwise empty field for a closer look. The grass was lit aflame, a great deal of it overturned.

"That's like, as bright as six _thousand_ glowsticks!"

In a deep crater at the center was a strange machine, circular and smooth and hauntingly familiar to Steven in a way that made his blood run cold.

"Peridot's escape pod..." He took a deep breath to banish the chill and turned to face his friends. "Okay everybody, step back! This is a gem machine and could be extremely dangerous!"

Sourcream stepped over him and scooped a large rock out of the dirt. "Watch this!"

"What are you doing?"

Sourcream lugged the rock through the air and sent it slamming down on the abandond machine with a heavy thud.

"_Boom_!"

The older teens laughed and all began to advance, sliding into the crater without a single care for their safety as they jumped down the slope.

"Wha- _wait_! Peridot might still be in there!"

Jenny was the first to reach the bottom of the crater with a final slide. "Peri-_what_?"

Sourcream hit the machine. "Yo this biz empty!"

Buck laughed and peeked inside. "Man, it looks so busted!"

"You need to get away from there!" Steven reached down and tried to grab at Jenny.

"You need to relax." Jenny grabbed Steven by his hand and pulled him down, "It's not doing anything."

"It's not just the pod!" Steven whined, "It means Peridot's just out there somewhere, trying to hurt the earth!"

Buck Dewey frowned. "_Not_ cool. Earth _forever_!" He kicked the pod with enough force to send him stumbling backward laughing.

"Stay off our planet!" Sourcream began to kick it as well, digging his spare foot into the ground to avoid the same fate as his friend.

Buck Dewey came back, and it wasn't long before Jenny joined in and all four were wailing on the pod with all their strength.

"Guys! I'm serious!"

Jenny stopped her distruction and turned to Steven with a smile. "Steven, come take a selfie with me and this thing!"

"I can't!"

"Bummer." She turned to the palest teen, "Sourcream, what about you?"

Sourcream didn't cease his attack. "Sure, I'm down with whatever." He gave one last, hard hit and then walked over to join Jenny.

"Buck Dewey?"

"Nah, I just like to experience the moment for what it is sometimes." He punched the pod again, "Plus the lighting is weird."

"Ugh. Okay." He pulled out her phone. "Come on Steven! Last call!"

Steven looked down. He was ashamed that he was even considering it.

"I got funny stickers." She grinned smugly and waved her phone in a taunting nature.

Steven's mind was immediately made up.

* * *

Jenny squealed. "These are so good! Want me to send em to ya?"

"Yes please..." Steven said meekly, "How do I look?"

"You look great! Stay right there, I'm gonna take one more..." Jenny interrupted herself with a gasp. "Steven!"

"I'm Steven."

"You should get in there!"

"What?"

"Come on, Steven! Just for a second, one picture!"

"Well..." As Steven considered, he looked out over all the expectant eyes. "Okay. But then we gotta get this back to the gems."

They all gathered around the pod, and the boys each grabbed one of Steven's hands to guide him inside. There was no seat to stand in, but it didn't seem to matter, because the moment his feet touched the ridged floor, the gap closed. Transparent green, with many different, warped screens and a small panel that materialized out of nothing right in front of him. Almost perfectly suited to his height.

"Oh my gosh!" Jenny grinned wide and snapped picture after picture, "Steven this is so cool!"

Steven touched the panel and it lit up. He dragged his fingers across the smooth surface, and as he did, the pod began to rise.

"Wha- what's happening?"

"You're controlling it!" Jenny said, practically melting from her excitement. "Oh my gosh! I gotta record this- pictures aren't enough!"

Just as she started her video, Steven moved his fingers once more and the robot began to lurch forward. Bouncing on three and a half legs, it climbed up the incline faster than any human could and rolled over once it reached the top and Steven lost control. It ended with the pod upside down. Seconds later, a sort of auto-pilot kicked in and turned him right-side up just as his friends were climbing out to join him.

"Steven! How are you doing that?"

"I don't know!" Steven said as the robot lurched forward once more.

"We'll don't stop! Ronaldo's gonna pay good money to see this!"

"I think it listens to what my hands do." Steven suggested, "I really shouldn't be playing with this. I have to take it back to the temple immediately."

"What?" Jenny shouted, "You just got it working!"

"C'mon, aren't you your own mom? You can do whatever you want!" Buck Dewey urged.

"Yeah, you gotta do some doughnuts in that thing!" Sourcream added.

"At _least_ a dozen." Buck Dewey nodded. "Baker's dozen."

"Seriously, Steven. You've been under a lot of pressure. Don't you think you deserve to have a little fun?"

Steven smiled.

* * *

It was the most fun Steven had in a while. Running, jumping. Slowly getting better control over his movements. He could have played for hours, but it all seemed like a blur of laughter and timed skills and new ideas bursting to life.

"You really got the hang of that thing huh?" Jenny said, with the smile that never once left her face.

Steven laughed. "Yeah. It always hooks on the left. I really should be getting it back to the gems though..."

That was met with a lot of complaining and pleading.

"I know, I know. It's really fun but... I have a responsibility to the Crystal Gems."

Jenny sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Here, let me help you out of there."

She reached in to grab Steven's hand, to which the boy gladly accepted. Jenny started to pull him out, but stopped suddenly at a strange, sudden hum.

"Huh?" Steven looked down at his feet and the control pad beneath them. "Whoops!"

He tried to step off, but a force pulled him back inside while an opposite force send Jenny flying into Sourcream.

"Steven!"

A screen closed him in, darkened to the point he could hardly see what was going on outside. "Guys?!"

* * *

"Steven!"

"Oh my God!"

"Get him out of that thing!"

They ran for the escape pod and tried to pry it open.

"It won't budge!" Buck Dewey growled through gritted teeth as he pressed all his weight into the screen.

Jenny started to push alongside him, and Sourcream joined the two of them.

"Steven! Steven, can you hear me?"

* * *

"Guys?! Guys?!" Steven couldn't hear anything. He was banging on the darkened shield as a strange light filled the pod. "Help!"

When the thick, green stubstance started to rain down on him, picking up speed with each moment that passed, panic began to set in. Green, mixed with yellow glitter almost like the stuff inside a squishy ball. Rising to his ankles, then to his knees, and his chest as he screamed out as loud as he could command his lung to do. Up to his shoulders, and the screams became cries. To his chin, past his nose. Completely submerged.

He held his breath until it was gone and he was forced to suck in what was bound to be his final breath. But when the liquid flooded his body, all it brought was a blissful relief.

"I can breath?" His voice was muffled as if he were underwater, but he could breath just as easily as if he were above.

The trap gave a sudden jerk into life and Steven slammed into the control pad.

* * *

A bright green glow lit up the sky. Jenny and her friends pulled away to gaze up at the sky as it flashed like a firework show. Like a beacon.

* * *

"Help! Help! Over here!"

Garnet was in the lead, Amethyst and Pearl at equal lengths behind her and Spinel drawing up the rear. At the cry for help, Spinel stretched out her arms to give herself a boost over the other gems heads while Amethyst dove into a dash and sped ahead of the group.

"Don't worry!" Pearl proclaimed proudly, spear in hand, "We'll save you humans!"

"What's going on here?" Amethyst looked around at the teens she quickly recognized, "Where's..."

"I can't believe it!" Pearl exclaimed suddenly, pointing her spear to the thrashing enemy, "Peridot's still inside!"

She hurled her spear at the hull and...

* * *

...It pierced through the metal with ease, as if slicing through butter, missing Steven by a hair. The goop...

* * *

Started to leak out in a thick, slimy mess. The expressions on all three teenagers fell at once, the boys sharing their horror with a simple glance while the bold girl spoke her mind.

"Wait, _no_!" Her cries went basically unheard.

"She's probably still weak from the landing." Garnet decided. "Amethyst!"

"On it!" Amethyst shot her whip and the end tied around the shaft of Pearl's spear in a tight knot, and with a jerk of her weapon...

* * *

...The pod shook violently and Steven shook with it, grabbing a hold of Pearl's spear to gain some sort of stability.

* * *

"Wait!"

Jenny went to charge the attack but was stopped by Spinel. The heart gem took one look at Jenny and blinked her confusion.

"Wait, aren't you..."

Garnet snatched the whip from Amethyst's hand and started to pull the pod down. "You got _a lot_ of nerve taking refuge _here_ of all places!"

* * *

Steven was terrified. Even through the fog of the screen and the tint of her visors, the cold rage in Garnet was enough to make Steven start to start. Start to cry.

"Garnet...?"

* * *

"I don't know where you get off attacking defenseless humans..."

* * *

Garnet... please it's _me_!" He pressed his hands to the glass pleadingly. He blinked and his eyes grew wide as saucers at the red glint of Garnet's gauntlet.

* * *

"...In your deadbeat escape pod!"

* * *

"Garnet! It's me, _Steven_! Can you hear me?"

* * *

"And if you think you're safe here, I got _news_ for _you_!"

* * *

"Garnet! Garnet! Garnet it's _me_!"

* * *

_"YOU LOST."_

* * *

She couldn't hear him. Not when he screamed or when he banged or when he cried. She couldn't _hear_ him. "Spinel! Pearl, Amethyst!"

* * *

"Garnet, something..."

Garnet interrupted Spinel. "NOW!"

* * *

His heart pounded. Tears fell hot for only a second before becoming one with the goop. He pulled his knees to his chest and sniffled. "_Garnet_..."

* * *

_"STAY! OFF!"_

* * *

"Please... I'm sorry..."

* * *

_"MY! PLANET!"_

* * *

Steven was possessed by something other than himself, something he couldn't control that made him call out.

_"DAD! Daddy... dad..."_

* * *

_"STOP!"_

Garnet halted her assault immediately. Jenny stood frozen, chest heaving, eyes closed, but like a rock she was unmovable as she stood between Garnet and the pod with the precious life within. Jenny opened one eye, then the other, and suck in a few quick breaths.

"Steven's in there..."

Garnet shoved Jenny aside and pulled the pod down the rest of the way, putting her face practically against the shield and looking past its tint. A terrified young soul, petrified to the point that he had assumed a fetal position with his back facing Garnet and his head covered with his arms.

"Steven..."

Garnet cracked the pod over her knee and scooped up Steven, but the boy didn't once break his defensive position, even as he was surrounded by concerned gasps and fearful, gently touches.

"Steven?"

"Oh my god!"

"Is he okay?"

Every gem reached over each other to clean him or stroke him or hold his hand. Spinel gently took Steven's hands and guided them away from his head, and Garnet took the opening to lift his chin up to face them. Only then did Steven truly seem to realize they were there as the light and life returned to his eyes.

"What were you doing?" Amethyst asked, pulling a clump from his hair.

"You found Peridot's escape pod and didn't come get us _immediately_?!" Pearl asked.

"Dude! We almost wrecked you!"

"Steven this is unacceptable!"

Spinel pulled Steven away from the rest of the prying eyes and gave a snarl, but made no attempt to speak.

"I'm very dissapointed in you." Garnet said coldly.

Steven sighed. "You're right..."

In an instant he was surrounded by the protective prescences of his friends, arms out and ready to fight anyone if they made any attempt to approach the small, cowering child.

"Hey, cut him some slack!" Jenny growled.

"It's not his fault!" Buck Dewey defended.

"_Just let him be a deejay!_" Sourcream blurted out.

Pearl blinked. "What?"

"Sorry, sorry." The pale teen backtracked, "Got some personal issues bouncing around in here." He motioned to his head.

"We just wanted Steven to have some fun!" Jenny said, "I don't know what's going on with aliens trying to abduct him, or him being his own mom, but what I _do_ know is he's got a lot on his mind!"

"Yeah! He sang a whole song about it!" Sourcream said.

"I'm sure whatever you're having him do is important, but everyone needs a break once in a while." Buck Dewey said.

"He's just a kid." Jenny said.

"I mean, he _did_ tell us he was hanging out with them..." Amethyst pointed out, "It's not like he snuck out."

"Still, he should've brought the robanoid to us _immediately_!"

"There a lot of things _you_ should have done _immediately_ and didn't." Spinel said, "What's your excuse?"

Pearl flushed blue. "Well, I..."

"Enough." Garnet said, approaching Steven with a gentle nature surrounding her. "What you did was very foolish. But I shouldn't have yelled at you. No harm was meant, even if harm nearly came to pass. I'm sorry."

Steven smiled. "That's okay." It wasn't. "Can we go home now?"

"Of course."

"Um. I'm not sure all ya'lls gonna fit in my car..."

"That's quite alright, human!" Pearl said with a smile, "We have a _much_ better, more _efficient_ mode of transport!"

"My name's Jenny..."

"Say goodbye to your friends, Steven"

Spinel put Steven down. He was met with three happy smiles and a pat on the head from Jenny.

"Take care little man." Buck Dewey said.

"See you back in town." Sourcream said.

"And don't forget to take breaks whenever you need them." Jenny reminded.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

"Steven, why is your communication device beeping?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean my phone..." Steven picked his phone out of his pocket, cancelling the incoming call and scrolling through a few dozen messages from Jenny (all pictures of the days escapades) and countless missed calls and messages from Connie. "It's Connie, trying to call me..."

"Well why aren't you answering her?"

"I... can't face her anymore..." Steven looked away shyly.

"So you're just going to ignore her?" Spinel asked, "Forever?"

Steven took a breath and nodded. "It's the responsible thing to do."

"It's gonna be hard, since she's coming up the steps right now."

"WHAT?!"

The knock came, and Pearl answered it with a smile. "Oh! Hello Connie!"

Desert was running up behind her, speaking her foreign tongue quickly and trying to stop her. Bismuth trailed behind.

"Sorry Pearl!" Bismuth ran up beside them, "She just snuck right past me. Guess I'm a little rusty on my lookout skills."

"That's quite alright, Bismuth; she's Steven friend.

"Is he home?" Connie asked, trying to look beyond Pearl, "I've been calling but he's been ignoring my calls."

"N... no. He... he's not here right now."

Steven cowered behind Garnet.

"Well, is he okay?" She took quick note of Pearl making every effort to block her view, "What's going on?"

"I... uh..." Pearl searched for escape. "I don't understand your human relationships. Goodbye." She slammed the door in Connie. "There! That should get rid of her!"

Connie knocked again.

"Oh no!" Pearl squealed, "What do I do?"

"Ignore it?" Amethyst suggested.

Pearl gasped at the suggestion. "I can't just ignore proper etiquette!"

"Move." Garnet pushed Pearl aside and opened the door.

Steven yelped and moved behind Spinel.

"I'm sorry, I just _really_ need to know that's Steven's okay." Connie said quickly, "Can I stay here until he gets back?"

_Please say no, please say no..._

"There's no need."

Steven breathed a sigh of relief.

"Pearl lied. He's behind Spinel."

Steven gasped. His and Connie's eyes met, and the next moment he was running away.

_"I'm sorry!"_ He locked himself in the bathroom, hiding behind the curtain as if it were a cloak of invisibility.

The handle jiggled. Then Connie knocked.

"Steven? _Steven_!"

Steven covered his ears but the words still got through.

"Steven I know you're in there!"

Steven pulled out his phone and send her a quick text. I don't want to be friends anymore.

There was a pause, then loud banging.

"I can't be with you anymore!" Steven called out through his tears, "I have a destiny!"

"Then say it to my face!" Connie shot back, and with her words came an overwhelming rush of sadness. "Come out here and _tell_ me you don't wanna be friends anymore! If you can... if you can do that, I'll leave you alone. And I'll just go back to having no friends. But I won't leave until you say it to my _face_!"

Steven slowly came out from behind the curtains and opened the door. He was more than ready to declare his independency from the friends standing beyond, but the moment he saw the furrowed features and sad, chocolate eyes leaking her sorrow, tears of his own came to follow.

_"I STILL WANNA BE FRIENDS!"_

He threw himself into her arms and hugged her tight, whimpering and burying his face into her soft neck.

"Steven!" Connie wrapped her arms around him in turn.

"I didn't want you to worry about it..."

"But I've been worried sick all week! What do you think I'm doing here?"

Steven shrugged. "I just wanted to protect you..."

"Stop." Connie raised delicate fingers to wipe away Steven's tears. "Tell me _everything_."


	42. Visitor

The night air was cool and still, apart from the odd chatter of a distant bird calling out. The occasional shadow passed over the moon, casting temporary darkness before the cloud moved on its slow march across the sky. None of the townspeople questioned the new fence across the beach, or where all the pieces of destruction had gone; when it came to gem matters, most people did everything they could to stay away and leave the danger to the ones that had been there the longest. The ones there before the town was built. The ones who their grandparents parents spoke of in such high regards. The protectors, the watchers. Everyone knew of them, but no one spoke of them. So when the wall was built and another gem guardian appeared out of nowhere, it wasn't questioned. It was just accepted, like the way the rain fell when the sky got grey or the way the sun shined down when the sky was clear. Like the tides pushed and pulled at the call of the moon and the way fireflies lit up the night sky like tiny little lanterns with their own little lives to live.

The newest gem was sitting in the sand, staring up at the stars and taking in the beauty of her most recent occasion. The cool wind and open air was the best place for her to be alone with her thoughts enough to let them run wild. That is, until she wasn't alone.

"Hey."

Bismuth looked up, a part of her jumping at the sudden presence, but small enough to push down and hide. "Hey Spinel."

Spinel slid down into the sand beside her and said nothing. Bismuth kept it that way as long as her conscience would allow before blurting out.

"It's a nice night, huh?"

"I guess."

Bismuth didn't let the silence take hold. "Ya know, I have a real good memory, but something's been getting on my nerves since I got back."

"Oh?" Spinel didn't seem all that interested.

"See that star there?" Bismuth pointed to the brightest star in the sky.

"Yeah, Polaris." Spinel said, "The Northern Star. What about it?"

"Well... I just coulda _sworn_ it was different..."

"That's because it is."

That peaked Bismuth's interest. "Hm?"

"The stars change over time slowly over time, like everything else. Back when you remember, the Northern Star would have been Thuban."

"Thuban? So that's it's name. And it uh, it was in that weird worm looking thing, right?"

"The constellation Draco- the dragon. Humans named it."

Bismuth whistled. "Wow. Did they name every star?"

"No, not every one. Just the important ones. Sirus, Altair, Bellatrix, Canius Major and Minor. A lot more." Spinel listed off.

"Wow, that's a lot of stars."

"Yeah." Spinel did little to spark any more conversation.

"So how do you know so much about them anyway?"

Spinel shrugged. "I figured since I'd be on earth for the long haul, I might as well learn as much as I can. Humans are really interested if you take the chance to know them and know about them. Their stories, their beliefs. Things that happened before gems arrived. How things have changed."

Bismuth smiled, and leaned back on her hands. "Ya know, even though it's different, it's still just as beautiful as I remember it."

"Change is the very nature of the universe." Spinel answered, and her voice grew suddenly dark. "Everything changes, but not always for the better. And sometimes people get hurt to pave the way to change..."

"Spinel...?" Bismuth forced a laugh, "You good?"

"That depends. You've been here a few weeks, and I just want to know. Have you changed? I mean _really_ changed?"

"I'm not sure what you're..."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Pearl and Garnet were more than happy to forgive an old friend. But the thing is, Bismuth, you're no friend of _mine_. My forgiveness is harder to find, and _I_ haven't forgotten what you've done."

Bismuth's expression fell. "You mean Steven..."

"Garnet said there was no harm done, that Steven healed himself so it was fine. What she really meant is there was no lasting physical harm. But mental harm is much harder to forget."

Spinel didn't look at Bismuth. Her voice stayed stagnant and monotonous, her eyes locked on watching the waves crash against the nearby shore.

"Pearl said you didn't mean it." Spinel gave a low laugh, "But doesn't that just make it worse? That you're liable to hurt someone, and that's just something we have to _accept_? Because you 'didn't mean it...'"

"Spinel, I lost my cool, and I know that..."

"Oh, we _all_ know that. You hurt my boy..." She pulled her hammer out from her gemstone and flipped a switch, "...you hurt Rose's boy." The hammer folded in on itself as a blade shot out in its place: a sharpened and new pink scythe. "And if you do it again, or give me any reason to think you might..." The curved point of the blade came to rest under Bismuth's chin and lift her head up to meet a shadowed, fiery gaze. "Then we're going to have problems..."

* * *

The knock at the door came quite suddenly and no one had been expecting it."

"I wonder who that could be." Pearl stood up to answer while the rest of the prying eyes followed her closely. She opened the door to a tall, skinny woman in a suit, long blond hair tied up in a neat ponytail and a face full of makeup caked on so thick it seemed to add a few layers to her skin. "Hello. Who are you?"

"I am Cynthia Smith with the Delmarva Child Protective Service." The woman flashed a badge.

Pearl put her hand to her mouth. "Protective service?"

A strange air filled the room as the gathered gems and Steven all exchanged looks.

"I'd like to speak with the head of the household please."

Pearl looked back to call for Garnet but the fusion was already there, a hand on Pearl's shoulder and attention locked on the human woman.

"This is a private property, and I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Sure, I can do that." Cynthia said, "And I can come back in a few days time with a warrant for the child's removal."

Spinel's hand immediately went to grab Steven's, while Pearl backtracked away to Bismuth, and Amethyst and Desert stood silently by.

"What's goin' on?" Bismuth whispered to Pearl.

"I'm not sure." Pearl admitted, grabbing a hold of Bismuth's arm to focus her concern instead on maintaining a tight grip.

"You'll have to bring any questions you have to Greg Universe." Garnet said calmly, her voice still and calm as she met the intruders warning. "Steven's father. He does not live here."

"I have already talked with the boys father, but you are his main guardians correct?"

"Correct." Garnet answered reluctantly.

"Then you any everyone currently residing in the household are subject to questioning to ensure you're qualified to raise the child."

"_The child_ has a name."

Pearl came up quickly, pushing past Garnet to face the woman herself. "This is crazy! Of course we're qualified to raise Steven!"

"An anonymous tip tells us otherwise."

Pearl put her hands on her hip. "What _anonymous tip_?"

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that."

"Guys? What's going on?" Steven came up behind Garnet, cowering behind her leg as he looked between the fusion and the pearl. "Am I in trouble?"

Pearl put a hand on his shoulders. "Not at all, Steven. Spinel, why don't you take Steven out to play?"

"That's a great idea, Pearl." Spinel's voice was laced with a venom, directed not at the gem she addressed, but at the strange woman. She slowly got up and grabbed Steven by the hand. "Let's go play, Steven..."

As the pink gem slid past the social worker, neither let their eyes leave the other.

"I would advise you don't go too far." The woman said, "I would like to ask the boy questions, as well as all the habitants currently residing in this residence. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not at all." Garnet growled. "Pearl, Amethyst, Bismuth, Desert. Go wait outside."

The four gems obeyed their leader without question, slowly making their way past Cynthia and out onto the porch. The social worker waited until they were all out of earshot before turning her attention to the head of the house.

"Mind if I have a look around?"

"Go right ahead."

As the woman started to look around, Garnet tracked her like a hawk. Her first stop was the kitchen, searching thoroughly through the cabinets and making marks on her clipboard before she moved on to examining Steven's room and the rest of the house. She took various pictures, of cabinets and the mess of Steven's room and the old furniture littering the home. Then she finally came to the temple door.

"Why is this door locked?"

"It leads to the rest of the bedrooms." Garnet said vaguely, "Steven is not allowed inside."

"Mind if I take a peek inside?"

"Yes I do."

There was tension in the air so heavy it might have been able to be sliced with a knife.

"Then I suppose the house examination is complete."

"I suppose it is."

"Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Ask."

The woman sat down and placed a small device on the table. "I will be documenting this interview for later review. May I have your verbal consent that you know you are being recorded right now."

"I know I am being recorded right now." Garnet responded.

"And you acknowledge the fact that you denied me access to a portion of your home, and that I may come back with a warrant to search if I find anything amiss?"

"I acknowledge that fact."

"Then let us begin. How many residents live here currently?"

"Seven."

"And how many are permanent residents?"

"All of them."

The woman hummed. "And who would be the primary caregiver?"

"We split the work."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Spinel and Pearl do most of the child rearing. Our money comes from Greg or Amethyst."

"And the rest?"

"I own the house, the other two are my guests."

"How many bedrooms?"

"Five."

"Bathrooms?"

"One."

"Right. And how long has the child been under your custody?"

* * *

"A little over ten years." Pearl answered confidently.

"What is your relation to the child?"

"We were... close friends with his mother. Family, really."

"And that is his mother there?" She motioned to the painting of Rose.

"Yes, that was her."

"Am I to assume his mother has since passed?"

"Yes. She died giving birth to him." Pearl answered, her gaze shifting down to her hands.

"I am so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. Rose was... very important to all of us."

"Why was the custody passed from the child's father onto you?"

"Well... Greg didn't really have a stable home and he wanted to give Steven the best life he could. So he passed custody of Steven onto us."

"And has Greg ever hurt Steven, to your knowledge?"

"What? _NO_! Greg... as annoying as he is... wouldn't hurt a fly, and most certainly not his own son."

"Just covering all the bases. How is he in school? How are his grades?"

* * *

"Uh." Amethyst fidgeted where she sat, "Steven doesn't go to school..."

"He's homeschooled?"

"Kinda...?" Amethyst offered, "No, not really."

"Has he ever been enrolled in one?"

Amethyst shook her head.

"Please keep your responses verbal for the record."

"Oh uh. No. No he hasn't."

"And is there a reason for it?"

"No..." Amethyst said meekly.

* * *

"What is your relation to the child?"

"I'm his Godmother." Spinel answered confidently.

"And who gave you that title?"

"His mother, Rose."

"I see. What is the nature of the child's relationship with his father?"

"They're close. Every weekend they go to the boardwalk to play music, and Greg gives Steven some money to go play the games at the Funland."

"Does he go there alone?"

Spinel fidgeted slightly. "_Sometimes_... but usually he's with one of us, or his dad, or his friends."

"Does he have many friends?"

Spinel grinned widely. "He has _loads_!"

* * *

"How long have you been staying in the household."

"Uh..." Bismuth wracked her brain for an answer, "A um... a little while."

"And how did you come to stay here?"

Bismuth gained more confidence in herself with that question. "They're old friends of mine."

"Really? Did you know the child's mother?"

"Yes! Rose and I go way back! Or, I mean... we did..."

"And what was the nature of your relationship?"

"We were um... old war buddies."

"_War_? You guys fought in a war?"

Bismuth immediately regretted the words and wished she could will them back out of existence. "Well uh... yes..."

"You all look rather young to have been in a war."

"We uh. We all look good for our age, haha..."

The woman hummed and moved on from the subject. "I notice you have tattoos."

Bismuth smiled and flexed her muscles to show off the star and triangle. "Sure do! Is... that a problem...?"

The social worker clicked her pen and started to scribble notes down on her clipboard. "Not at all..."

* * *

"Do you understand me?"

"Yes..." Desert squeaked meekly.

"Is English your first language?"

"No..."

"Right. I am going to ask you a series of yes and no questions. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Good." She offered a smile, "Were you born in America?"

Desert hesitated. "No...?"

"Did you immigrate here as a child?"

"No..."

"So you immigrated later in life?"

"Yes."

"Are you here on a Visa?"

Desert stared. Her eyes darted from side to side as her lip quivered. "Visa...?"

"Vi-sa." The lady said slowly, "Or a green card?"

"G...green card...?"

"Yes. Green card." She spoke as if to a child, slow and condescending. "Green card or visa?"

"I..." Desert whimpered, and finally whimpering turned to sobbing, "I no know... I am sorry... I want Amy!"

She brought her hands to her face to hide her tears. The social worker stared at the crying woman for a short time before scribbling down even more notes.

* * *

"What is your name?"

"Steven Quartz Universe." Steven answered, smiling despite the anxiety swirling around in his stomach like a jumbled-up knot. His legs swung absently over the edge of the couch, his arms folded over his lap and back straight just as Pearl always taught him.

"And your Birthday?"

"August fifteenth, 2003."

"Really? You seem awfully young for thirteen!"

"I have a baby face." Steven puffed out his chest and boasted. "Baby-faced Steven they call me!"

"Well, _Baby Face Steven_, _my_ name is Cynthia. You mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"You already did, but you can ask me some more."

Cynthia laughed. "I hear you don't go to school?"

Steven shook his head.

"Have you ever wanted to?"

"Well... sometimes I think about it." Steven replied honestly, "But I got lots of important work to do."

"Work? Like what?"

"Just last week a giant space hand tried to abduct me!"

Cynthia's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah! This was this ginormous gem named Jasper and this slightly smaller one named Peridot. The hand crashed on the beach and Peridot got away!"

"I see." Cynthia said simply, starting to write notes as she spoke. "And what are gems?"

"I'm a gem!" Steven lifted up his shirt to show his stomach, "And so are Pearl and Bismuth and Garnet and Spinel and Amethyst. Oh, and Desert!"

"Wow. That's cool."

"I know! I'm very special."

"Can you tell me more about these 'gems'?"

"Well, there are good gems and bad gems. The gems here are all good and so was Lapis but Peridot and Jasper were really big bullies!"

"Aw, they were mean to you huh?"

Steven nodded. "_Really_ mean!"

"Well something like that surely must've given you trouble sleeping?"

"Not really... I mean... sometimes when I close my eyes I remember it and sometimes they're in my dreams, but I sleep okay I think. My room's just up there!" He pointed up to the loft.

"Are you comfortable up there?"

"Yeah. I mean, there are some nights I just _really_ don't wanna have to walk up all the stairs, but I always end up doing it because my beds softer than the couch."

"Do you have any toys?"

"Mmhmm! Lots! Stuffed animals and G.U.Y.S and G.A.L.S and all sorts of things!"

Cynthia smiled. "That's wonderful! What kind of foods do you eat?"

"Well... at the beginning of the month I usually have stuff like grilled cheese or soup. Sometimes Jenny brings me a free pizza, or Buck Dewey brings me some tasty goods. Oh! And I get fries from Fryman's and doughnuts from the Big Doughnut every day!"

"Every day?"

"Yeah huh!"

"I see..." She chewed on her pen absently for a few moments, then said, "Steven, do you know how much you weigh?"

"Um. I don't know." He looked down, scooping up his belly in his hands and then releasing it to watch the fat jiggle. "A lot I think. Like, at least fifty squirrels!"

Cynthia sighed, and her voice darkened. "Steven, has anyone ever tried to hurt you?"

Steven whimpered. "You mean like bullies...?"

"Sure."

"Well... there were these one boys..." _How are we gonna play together if you're too poor to buy time? How can someone so poor be so fat?_ "And they were really mean to me! But I haven't seen them in a while, and everyone else is super nice to me."

"What about any of your guardians, or your father? Have they ever tried to hurt you?"

A gauntlet, shining bright in the sunlight, about to strike him with a harsh blow. A spear, nearly peircing through him. A whip, striking him against the chest. A hammer, hard as metal, and a blinding pain to follow. "No."

"Are you sure?" She seemed to latch on to his hesitance, "You can talk to me; you're not in any trouble."

Steven shifted and bit his bottom lip as his eyes searched for anything to look at other than the worker. "They love me, and they wouldn't hurt me."

The woman didn't press. "Okay, Steven. Do you get in trouble often?"

"Um. Not really. I mean, I did the other day and... and when I told lies and stuff."

"What kind of lies?"

"About..." Steven considered his wording, "My friend, but they didn't want her to be my friend because they said she was bad."

"Bad how?"

"That she would hurt me... and she tried to take me away."

"That must've been so scary."

"Not really. She was nice to me, and the gems got me back so it was okay."

"Well I'm glad that you're safe. Do you mind telling me what your punishments are like?"

"Usually I'm just grounded and I'm not allowed to go on missions or hang out with my friends."

"Do they leave you home alone?"

"Yeah." Steven answered, "They got super important work to do and I can't always go with them."

"How often do they leave you alone?"

"A few times a week."

"And for how long?"

Steven hummed. "Usually a few hours."

"That must get awfully boring. How do you usually pass the time?"

"Well, when I'm not grounded I go to Funland or hang out with my friends or in the Big Doughnut. And sometimes I play with Lion."

"Who's Lion?"

"He's my pet lion; he's pink and he can make portals and he has this wormhole inside his brain to take me into a pocket dimension filled with my moms stuff."

It took the woman a moment to respond. "I see." She started to scribble once more.

"What are you writing?" Steven tried to take a peek, but Cynthia tilted the paper so he couldn't see.

"Just some notes." She said with a smile, "Nothing you need to worry about."

Steven collapsed back into the couch. "Okay." He was far too used to hearing that.

"Now, I know you told me your caretakers never hurt you, but what about each other?"

"Huh?"

"Have they ever gotten into fights with each other?"

Steven whined. "Sometimes... but they never mean it!"

"Do they hit each other in these fights?"

"Sometimes..."

"How often?"

"Not very. I don't like these questions."

"I only have a few more."

"I don't like them..."

"Steven, do you feel safe here?"

"Of course I do, it's my house!"

"Do you ever feel unsafe?"

"I don't know!" Steven wiped his eyes to stop tears from sliding out of them.

"Steven I need you to answer."

"Sometimes when the monsters come..."

"The monsters? What are the monsters?"

"The corrupted gems! Good gems that aren't bad but some were and they all turned into monsters!"

"Do you see any bad gems now?"

Steven blinked. "No? You'd see them too if they were! I'm not making it up!"

"I believe you, Steven."

"It doesn't _sound_ like you do."

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I can save the rest of my questions for another time."

"You're coming back?" Steven whimpered.

She didn't answer. She stood up and gathered up her things before quickly making her wait outside to where the gems were waiting. Pearl and Spinel quickly shot inside to Steven, the former wiping away his tears while the later glared angrily at the exiting woman.

"Steven are you alright? You're crying!" Pearl said.

"I'm okay." Steven watched as Cynthia singled out Garnet and the two began to talk, "I don't like her."

Pearl pulled him into a hug.

"She said she was coming back." Steven whimpered, "She's not, right?"

"Not if she knows what's good for her." Spinel growled.

"What sort of things did she ask you?" Pearl queried.

"Stuff like if I feel safe or if anyone hurts me and how much I weigh."

"How much you weigh?" Pearl frowned. "Well, that's impolite!"

"I know!" Steven said, and then he looked down as he fiddled with his hands, "Why is she here? Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all, Steven." Pearl pet the boys head. "She was just making sure you're okay."

Garnet closed the door as Cynthia left, then turned to her fellow gems.

"Well?" Pearl prompted.

"She says she may need to make a follow-up visit." Garnet stated.

Amethyst groaned. "What? _Again_?! Why?!"

"Wasn't one enough?"

"Is she gonna take me away?"

Garnet gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "We'd never let that happen. _Ever_."

* * *

Steven could hardly think the next few days. Every time he went out, he found himself constantly peeking over his shoulder, expecting something to happen. For some other social worker to swoop in and take him somewhere else away from his dad and the gems. He expected that monstrous fusion to rise from the sea and destroy the town in a tsunami of anger and anguish. Every shadow to him was Peridot in hiding, every van harboring a criminal to take him away. Every cloud that blocked out the sun was the shadow of a great ship until proven otherwise. The crash of the waves at night was Jasper pounding on the beach, daring Steven to come out and face her. With a knock at the door in the early morning, with the sun just barely peaking over the edge of the sea, came a fear to be stitched into his heart, pulled tight enough to force the breath from his chest.

Pearl answered.

Immediately there was chaos. Cynthia accompanied with two other men, all shoving paperwork in the gem's face and speaking big words didn't understand. Occasionally he caught some that made the vaguest semblance of sense,_ removal_ and _warrant_ and _custody_, and even as the gems tried to fight back against it, the people forced their way upstairs to him. All the words from both workers and gems seemed to merge into one great calamity of screams and cries as one of the men picked up Steven and forced him toward the door even as he kicked and screamed to be let down.

"GIVE HIM BACK..."

"YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM!"

"...warrant for his removal..."

"Leave him be!"

"Oh stars above..."

"Granted by the state of Delmarva..."

"Let me go!"

"You're upsetting him!"

"Steven!"

"Spinel, don't..."

"Let me go! Let me..."

"I'm ending this!"

"Spinel, do not..."

"Let me go..."

"... stop resisting …"

"...appeal..."

"GET OFF OF ME! GET OFF!"

"You can't take him!"

"LET ME _GO_!"

The world slowed.

_To Steven, it was like everything danced in slow motion. The screams came out as silence, their cries unheard in the stillness. Steven could see every stray droplet of water sprayed from the sea, and he could see the panic in his family's faces as they all scrambled in their slow pursuits. Nearby, a butterfly was drifting through the air, it's wings mid-flap as it hovered. Steven blinked the tears from his eyes. Everything around him seemed to be engulfed in a pinkish hue, as if seen through a rosy window, and the only sound was that of his own rushing blood coursing through his veins._

Woah. This again. _He couldn't speak, but he didn't care. He pulled away from the stranger containing him and fled back to the safety of the gems._

* * *

It was as if Steven moved in between blinks. One second he was being dragged away, and the next he was beside Pearl and Spinel, clinging to both of their arms for security. Pearl's eyes snapped down to him first.

"What WHAT _WHAT_?!"

A question mark appeared above Spinel's head, immediately followed by a dotted line shaped like Steven where the horrified social workers once held the boy. Her eyes stretched out into long tubes, looking all around the beach until she felt a dug at her pants and brought them looking down at Steven, dragging across his face a few times before truly accepting it was him.

"How did you...?" The service agent began as she and her colleagues began to back away.

"There is a lot you don't know about Steven." Garnet answered calmly, and with each step she took toward the cowering humans, they took one step back.

"Yeah!" Amethyst added, "So get up out all our biz!"

"That child... he's not human..."

Pearl risked a glance toward Steven. His eyes were aglow in a pink sheen and his gemstone was still ignited to match. and there was a power radiating from him that was so familiar to her.

"And neither are we." Garnet said coolly, "If you think he's scary then you're in for so. Much. More."

"Don't hurt us!" One of the men shouted suddenly, his voice coming out as a shrill cry.

"Oh we won't hurt you." Spinel caught on quickly to Garnet's game. "As long as you do what we say." Her eyes shot into a fiery red and the chuckle to follow was a thing of nightmares.

"Go." Garnet said, "Go, and make Steven disappear from your records. If you do not do this, I will know." She took off her glasses to show off her third eye, much to the horror of the poor humans gathered, "If you tell anyone, I will know. If you come for him again, then you accept whatever misfortune shall become of you."

She summoned a gauntlet and shot it just above the social workers head, slamming pointedly into a rock and shattering it on impact.

"And I can promise you this: It will not be _pleasant_."


End file.
